Harry Potter and the Intervening Years
by WitchcraftWriter
Summary: This is a story about what happens between the final chapter of book seven and the epilogue. It also concerns the romances of Harry/Ginny, Hermione/Ron, and others. Mostly concerned with Harry and Ginny. HP/GW RW/HG Please rate and review!
1. A New Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (or any of its subsidiaries) nor do I claim to.

A/N: This story takes place shortly after the final battle. I'm trying to follow very closely to the character pairings and canons that J.K. Rowling said happened according to her press releases I found on Wikipedia. Though I will be deviating slightly because, after all, this is fan fiction, what's the point if you don't take your own whack at how it should turn out? I hope you enjoy this and please review!

Also, I'd like to say that even though this is rated Mature, it's not going to have an awful lot of graphic sexual content in it, but there will be cursing, drinking, and some sexual scenes. That's the only reason it has the rating that it does.

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'Harry!' called a voice from right next to Harry Potter's ear.

He jerked awake. From the tone of Ron Weasley's voice, he'd been trying to get Harry to wake up for quite some time, as demonstrated by the bucket of water levitated over his head. Harry yelped and rolled off the bed just in time to miss getting soaked.

'Oy! What the bloody hell was that for?!' he yelled at his best mate.

Ron grinned at him, grabbing the bucket out of the air and putting it down in its usual place next to the bedside table.

'Sorry mate, had to get you up. Mum's been calling you for fifteen minutes. Apparently, you got an owl this morning saying that you had to go in early today, the tests are getting closer and the office wants you to come in and do a practical trial thing or some such rubbish. She's got breakfast ready and refilled the Floo Powder this morning so you don't have to Apparate today. You only have a few minutes, so get off your arse and get dressed!'

Harry groaned and sat up, patting the table for his glasses. He found them eventually and put them on, the room finally coming in clearly. He took in Ron, his Weasley red hair was actually combed into a respectable fashion, his magenta robes were pressed and looked prim and proper, and he looked more awake than he ever had this early in the morning. _The joke shop must be having another press conference today, _Harry thought.

'What bloody time is it anyway?' Harry asked, getting up and going to his closet to get his robes for the day out. He decided on his go-to black with a white shirt. Nothing really fancy today.

'It's about half-past seven, lazy bones,' Ron replied, grinning at Harry again.

'Would you mind waiting downstairs? I need a shower in the worst way. I had one of those damned dreams again,' Harry said, shuddering at the memory. Ron, of course, knew what he meant and left the twins' old room without another word.

The dreams Harry spoke of were always the same or at least similar. Harry would be fighting Voldemort in the Great Hall as he had a year previously, but this time, he hadn't won. Voldemort had gotten lucky and killed him. He killed all of Harry's friends while Harry lingered as a ghost and watched as each of them fell to the Death Eaters' curses. When Ginny died, he always woke up in a pool of cold sweat.

He crossed the hall, still in his sleeping gear (these days just boxers), and nearly ran into Ginny. He yelped and, once again, fell on his arse, his robes sent into the air. Ginny, too, had a miraculous tumble with her ending up on top of him.

'Though I don't doubt the enthusiasm, I thought we were going to save this for this weekend when Mum and Dad are at that Ministry meeting,' she said with a wicked grin and an equally wicked glint in her eyes. She kissed him on the lips before getting off of Harry and offering him a hand up.

Immediately, they both realized it would look very bad if Ron, Mr Weasley, or Mrs Weasley happened to walk up the stairs at that moment, considering the large tent Ginny had left Harry with. He quickly got to his feet and grinned back at Ginny, trying to hide the obvious sign of his arousal. Actually, he was very happy this had happened, considering it banished all thoughts of his dreams prior to Ron's rude awakening.

'Gin, you are going to be the death of me!' Harry whispered and stole a quick kiss. 'I have to hurry, apparently I'm wanted at the Ministry for something or other to do with my Auror exams.'

'Those shouldn't be for another two years should they? Auror training takes three years, not just the one,' Ginny asked, helping Harry to gather his things so he could shower and dress.

'They are, but since I've been under the direct tutelage of Kingsley and he thinks I'm ready for the tests now, I'm taking them sooner rather than later. If I don't pass, it isn't that big of a deal, I'll just retake them in a few months. There aren't enough Aurors left right now, so I'll stay with Kingsley for a bit longer so he can teach me all he thinks I need to know. Sorry, Gin, but I really have to go and shower.' He kissed her again and took his robes from her before hurrying into the bathroom.

Harry showered very quickly, not even waiting for the water to fully heat up before getting in, which was perhaps a good thing considering it helped him get rid of his arousal. He got out and dried off, not bothering to comb his hair or shave as he threw his robes on. He dashed downstairs and nearly did a face-plant entering the kitchen. Ron choked on his orange juice and Ginny, still in her dressing gown (Harry hadn't noticed what she was wearing when they bumped into each other in the hall), giggled at both the expression on Harry's face and the fact her mother had to pound Ron on the back so he could breathe.

'Are you okay, Harry dear?' Mrs Weasley asked in a very concerned and motherly tone. She bustled over to him and pulled out her wand, trying to get the creases out of his robes and also vainly trying to get his hair to lie flat. Harry let her do it as he grabbed a piece of toast off of the table and started eating it quickly.

'I'm fine, just in a bit of a rush. How long ago did that owl arrive?' Harry asked as he grabbed a second piece of toast. He wolfed that down as well and started making his way to the fireplace.

'Not very long ago, dear. About twenty minutes I would guess. I wish you would eat something more substantial for breakfast, Harry,' she said, hovering just behind him.

'I don't have the time, Mrs Weasley, I'm sorry,' he said, grabbing a handful of Floo Powder. 'I'll see you all later. Oh, and can someone owl Andromeda and tell her I might be a bit late picking up Teddy tonight? I have to go by Hogsmeade after the Ministry.'

'I don't mind going before practice,' Ginny said before rushing forward and swiftly kissed him on the cheek. 'Good luck today, Harry,' she said with a grin and a wink before going back to eat her breakfast. Harry shook his head and grinned stupidly before throwing the Floo Powder down.

'Ministry of Magic!' he shouted and was immediately engulfed in green flames. Harry hated travelling by Floo, but it was a lot nicer than Apparition. After a few seconds of bumping into walls and catching glimpses of other wizarding establishments and homes, Harry felt himself slow down and come to a stop, the Atrium of the Ministry coming into view. He stepped out of the fireplace and shook out his ever-untidy black hair of the soot it had accumulated on his trip via the Floo Network before continuing on through the early-risers of the Ministry workers. He nodded to those he knew and made his way through the golden gates, past the newly erected Fountain of Magical Equality (which now featured a healer witch, a wizard, a centaur, a goblin, and a house elf either seated or standing and all beaming out at the onlookers. There was also a moving statue of a mermaid that swam serenely around the bowl of the fountain, occasionally flipping her tail in the air). Harry dropped a Knut into it, the proceeds still going to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. He continued on his way to the lifts, finding one waiting for a passenger and hopping into it along with a rather sleepy looking Auror John Dawlish.

'M-m-m-morning, Potter,' Dawlish said through a particularly huge yawn. The lift doors closed and they started moving up.

'Morning, Dawlish,' Harry replied. He did not like Dawlish very much, though he knew him to be a good Auror and a friend of the Minister. 'Early day for you as well?'

'Level seven, Department of Magical Games and Sports, incorporating the British…' the voice that announced practically everything in the Ministry said. The gates opened, but no people boarded with them, though a few interdepartmental memos did zoom in and hover above Harry and Dawlish's heads.

'Yeah, the Minister wanted a meeting with all of the Aurors assigned to him for protective detail this cycle,' he replied, stifling another yawn.

Harry nodded. Since the end of the war, Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister for Magic, had taken a new tact in his personal security. Every six months, the Aurors assigned to guard him when he was making public appearances would be changed out. In the beginning, this had been hard to do and only two Aurors could guard him at a time since there were so many things to do after the war ended. But now, it was a lot easier, with four Aurors guarding him at all times and another four taking over after their six month period of duty.

'Well, I hope that goes well. You know, after what happened in Diagon Alley, I thought he would add at least one more Auror to his guard,' Harry said, generally curious as to Kingsley's reasons.

A few months previously, a fanatic ex-Death Eater by the name of Jugson had accosted Kingsley in the middle of Diagon Alley. He almost succeeded in cursing the Minister, but Dawlish had stepped in the way and wound up in St. Mungo's for a few weeks. No one had been allowed to report what was wrong with him, but Harry had heard that Dawlish needed to have several growths removed before returning to active duty.

'No, he said that it was mostly a one-time thing, though nobody believes it. I'm just surprised that there are any Death Eaters left. It's been over a year now,' Dawlish shook his head as the lift finally arrived at their floor.

Harry left the lift and waved vaguely in Dawlish's direction before continuing down the Level 2 corridor towards the Auror office. There was light under the double doors, so he knew he wasn't the first to arrive today. He pushed open one side and started walking towards the office at the end where he usually reported in the morning.

'Oy, Potter!' a voice called and Harry stopped and turned around. One of the Aurors hadn't had much contact with was walking towards him. 'The head isn't in today, so you'll be working with me until Emelina gets in.'

Emelina Banks was the second-in-command of the Auror office under Gawain Robards. Gawain had been put back in charge after Yaxley was removed. Harry shrugged and followed the Auror to her desk, which had a plaque reading 'Karina Smith-Chance.' Harry nodded and sat down in the chair that was situated in front of the desk.

'You're running field assignments today. If you can handle everything without having to fall back for assistance too many times, you can consider yourself a full Auror,' she said, grabbing a few papers and thrusting them at him. 'They're pretty basic, I know you've run them with Kingsley, Gawain, and Emelina before so they shouldn't be any trouble. I'll be going with you on the first one, but you'll be able to choose a partner for any others that come in.'

Harry was shocked, but he nodded. Kingsley had told him this might come up soon. He looked down at the first file that he needed to sort out. Apparently there was a wizard just outside of Sheffield who had received notice before that charming Muggle objects was against Ministry law, but he hadn't listened to the bloke who had come out the second time from the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office and had sent him to St. Mungo's with one hell of a jelly-legs jinx on him. The worker had to take a week off for sick leave to heal his broken foot and collar bone from colliding repeatedly with a staircase.

'Ready to go Karina?' Harry asked, studying the Apparition coordinates so he wouldn't look like a git trying to find his way there.

'Yeah, just give me a minute to find my wand. I always misplace the damn thing…Ah! Here it is, let's go Potter, we're wasting daylight!' she exclaimed and started off down the row to the double doors, Harry right behind her.

They quickly got on a clattering lift and went through the employee's exit in the Atrium to the usual alley that Ministry employees could Disapparate from. Harry nodded to his colleague and, holding his wand tightly, turned on the spot and disappeared to a dusty lane not too far from the home of the wizard in question. A few moments later, Karina appeared next to him with a soft popping sound.

Harry looked around and nodded; there weren't any muggles nearby that he needed to worry about. He tucked his wand into his robes and started walking, Karina right beside him.

'How do you want to do this one, Harry?' she asked, stowing her own wand in the sheath on her opposite wrist. Harry looked at her and reminded himself to go to Quality Quidditch Supplies to pick one of those up. (The sheaths were actually meant for Quidditch players, but more and more Aurors were buying them so they could quickly and inconspicuously get to their wands.)

'I'll go in the front, try to talk to him. You circle around to the back in case he isn't cooperative,' Harry replied. He had read that the wizard they were after, a Mr Harold Kenworthy, lived by himself and had no close neighbors, so they were reasonably assured that no one else would be in his home to help him fight or escape.

Karina nodded and said nothing more. They walked about half a Kilometer, then his house came into view. It was nothing spectacular, just a quaint country home. It didn't even have that nice of a garden. The problems, as Harry saw them, were the lawn mower, power auger, gas powered shears, and other gardening instruments that were strewn about the front lawn. Karina looked at him and Harry nodded once to indicate they should stick with the plan they had in place. She left to go round the back of the house while Harry went in the front.

As soon as Harry crossed the property line, one of the spades gave a twitch. Harry took another few steps, but none of the tools came to life to start beating him. He let out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding and continued to the front door. Harry knocked politely three times and waited, but there was no answer.

'Mr Kenworthy? This is Harry Potter from the Auror Office, please open the door so I won't have to use force,' Harry called, banging on the door a bit harder. He heard a noise behind him and spun.

The tools that Harry had been wary of upon entering the garden now gave him good reason to be on his guard. The lawnmower was starting itself; the auger was hovering and emitting a strange green smoke as its bit twisted and ran in and out; likewise the gas powered shears were chopping away at the air while emitting the same green smoke. The rest of the tools that had been randomly lying in the grass were all hovering of their own accord.

'Oh bugger,' Harry said to himself and drew his wand. The auger shot towards him and Harry turned away at the last moment, letting the charmed tool embed itself in the door. He flourished his wand and cried, 'Impedimenta!' at the approaching shears. They shot backwards into the lawnmower, which was now also letting off green smoke, and both started attacking each other. Harry blasted a few more tools, but they were all coming back, the auger working its way out of the door and starting towards him again. He jumped back and thrust his wand forward as he shouted, 'Immobulus!' All of the tools froze in midair and Harry sighed.

He turned around and trudged back to the now demolished front door. He faced the tools and one by one, cast 'Finite incantatem,' on all of the tools. After the counter-spell took effect, all the tools fell out of the air or simply stopped running. When Harry was satisfied there were no more objects lying in wait to attack him, outside, he proceeded into the house. The door proved to be unmovable in its current state, so he simply blasted it aside. Inside the house, he found a slightly harried looking Karina Smith-Chance. Her robes were cut in a few places and her hair had fallen out of its pony tail, but besides that she looked okay.

'I can't find him anywhere, Potter,' she said, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. 'It looks like he just left, though. If we hurry, we can probably catch up to him, if he's on a broom of course. If he Apparated, we're fucked.'

Harry looked around; something wasn't feeling quite right to him. He held a finger to his lips to tell Karina to remain quiet. Harry kept his wand at the ready and walked around the living room, then the kitchen, bedroom, lavatory, and finally to the basement door. He opened in, casting a Silencing Charm in case the hinges squeaked and descended the dark stairs with Karina covering his rear. He reached the bottom, and carefully looked around what appeared to be the suspect's private potions lab. There were still fires burning under some of them and a few were warm besides. The lighting was dim, the only source being a few torches and the small, dingy window at the top of the west-facing wall, so Harry had some trouble finding what he was looking for, but he did eventually.

'Accio cloak!' Harry intoned, and held a hand out to catch a cloak that had flown towards him from the corner of the room he was facing. Harry grinned at the startled look on his target's face. 'You should have gotten a new cloak, mate, it looks like the charms are fading from this one.'

Harold Kenworthy goggled at Harry for a moment before his expression darkened, his upper lip upwardly curling to bear his grimy teeth. The man went for his wand, but Harry was faster.

'Expelliarmus!' Harry shouted. Kenworthy's wand flew from his pocket into Harry's outstretched hand. 'Now are you going to come quietly, or do I have to take you to Azkaban tied up?'

Kenworthy seemed to deflate slightly as Harry said this and groaned. He sank to the floor, his dirty hands covering his eyes. Harry rolled his eyes and stowed the man's wand before walking over and pulling him up by the scruff of his robes.

'You aren't going to cause any more trouble are you?' Harry asked. Kenworthy shook his head and Harry grinned. 'Do you want to come with me or shall I meet you back at the office?' he asked an astounded looking Karina.

'Uh…I'll meet you at the office. Good job Pot- I mean Harry,' she said and shook her head before turning on the spot and Disapparating.

Harry grinned again and, making sure he had a firm hold on his charge, Apparated to Azkaban prison.

During the long work day, Harry hadn't had much chance to hang out with Neville Longbottom. Neville had joined the Auror Office at the same time as Harry when Kingsley had made an open invitation that anyone who fought against Voldemort in the war to join the Auror Office. Harry had wondered periodically throughout the day if his schoolmate was being offered the same opportunity that he was. Harry was so swamped that he missed their standing Friday lunch arrangement at the Leaky Cauldron.

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It was with mounting trepidation that Harry entered Gawain Robards' office at the end of the workday. Harry had dealt with fifteen cases that day, two of which he flew solo on. There were now ten more occupied cells in Azkaban and five old ones refilled (these were not escapees, but former offenders being rearrested) thanks to Harry. Still, he did not know if Robards would give him the position after only one day as a lead field Auror. Harry knocked on the door and waited. It felt as if every Auror in the department was watching and waiting to hear the news just as he was.

'Come in,' came Robard's voice from the other side. Harry swallowed and opened the door, walking in quickly and closing it behind him. 'Have a seat, Potter.' Harry did so. 'It looks like you did very well today, not one of the cases you were after went unsolved today, good work.'

'Thank you, sir,' Harry said, still on tenterhooks as to whether he would get the job or not.

'Now looking at your record from the past year and obviously all you did before that, I'm not sure why I didn't do this before now,' Gawain said, looking at a stack of papers in front of him. 'Let me be the first to properly welcome you to the Auror Office as a full-fledged Auror, congratulations Harry!'

Harry's eyes went wide in shock. Though he'd been warned when he got in that morning, it hadn't prepared him for this announcement. He smiled and shook Robards' proffered hand before rising.

'Thank you, sir. You don't know how much this means to me!' Harry nearly jumped for joy, he was so happy.

Gawain flushed, clearly not used to openly showing emotion or dealing with it from an employee. 'Yes, well…again, congratulations. See you Monday morning, Potter. You'll see the raise on your next paycheck. Now go home before we get another call, go!'

Harry shook his boss's hand again and left his office. He opened the door and nearly jumped out of his skin.

'SURPRISE!' the staff from the Auror Office shouted. They had all, all except for those on assignment, anyway, assembled in front of Robards' office and were lying in wait for Harry to come out. A great banner was hovering above their heads that read. 'CONGRATULATIONS HARRY POTTER – NEWEST ADDITION TO THE AUROR OFFICE!' There was also a cake with his face on it and everyone in attendance was wearing a party hat.

Harry blushed a shade of scarlet Ron would have been proud of and looked behind him to see Gawain Robards laughing while he looked over the paperwork on his desk. Harry tried to scowl at the man, but couldn't and just grinned.

'You didn't have to do all this you know, I've been working here for a year already,' he said to the crowd.

'We know that, Harry, but we wanted to,' Emelina Banks said. 'This is a big occasion, you becoming a full Auror and all. So relax, let your hair down, have some fun!'

Harry smiled at her and gave her a hug as the others started up a rather loud chorus of 'For He's a Jolly Good Fellow.' Harry found Neville in the mess of people eating cake and toasting Harry's health and well-being after about twenty minutes.

'Congratulations, Harry!' he said with a grin. 'Knew you'd make it.'

'Thanks mate. Did you get the same chance as me, Neville? I mean, we were hired on at the same time and all,' Harry asked in return. He was worried Neville might be angry about Harry being promoted before him.

'Actually, I asked Emelina about that earlier, round when I heard about your trial run today,' Neville replied, taking a hasty pull from his glass of punch. Emelina was his personal mentor in the Auror Office. 'She told me I'd get my chance some time next week, though she didn't specify as to the day. She probably wants to keep me on my toes.'

'Ah, I guess that works then. I was just worried about being shown favoritism, you know,' Harry said uneasily.

Neville laughed. 'Don't fret about it, Harry. I don't care if they show you favoritism; you're the one who vanquished Voldemort!'

'Yeah, but I had help. I couldn't have done it without you taking out Nagini.'

Neville nodded soberly and fingered the very faint scar just under his hairline. The healers at St. Mungo's had said it was permanent, just like Harry's lightning scar. Harry sometimes looked upon this with black humour, seeing as Voldemort eventually marked them both, although Dumbledore had told him at the end of his fifth year that the Dark Lord had chosen Harry over Neville.

'Yeah, I guess you're right,' Neville replied. 'I'd better go; I have some paperwork to do before I go home. See ya later, Harry!' Neville disappeared into the crowd as Harry went the opposite direction, heading for the cake.

Harry enjoyed himself for about an hour, and then decided it was time to go home for the day. He left, though everyone kept trying to pull him back or something. It was very reminiscent of the end of his first week at the office a year previously when a similar situation had occurred, though then everyone had wanted autographed headshots of 'The Man Who Won.' He eventually got out of the office and down to the Atrium where there was a long line to get to the fireplaces. It just so happened, he got behind a very familiar head of bushy brown hair.

'Hello Hermione!' Harry said happily. Hermione Granger turned and smiled at him.

'Hey Harry. I hear congratulations are in order?' she asked with a cheeky grin.

'You were in on it too? That just isn't fair. I ought to back up there and hex the lot of them,' Harry said in mock anger, though he couldn't keep the smile off of his face.

Hermione grinned back and slapped his arm. 'You'll do no such thing!' She laughed and moved up another space as someone else used the fire to return to their home. 'Just so you know, I owled Mrs Weasley and there's to be a party tonight in your honor.'

Harry groaned. 'Why'd you do that Hermione? I would have told them about all this. There's no reason for a party.'

'Oh, bull, yes there is! You're a real Auror now, not just a trainee. Come on! Kingsley, McGonagall, and all the Weasleys are going to be there, it'll be fun,' Hermione said. She was now second to next in line.

'Kingsley! That's just stepping a bit too far!' Harry said. He was certain tonight would not go well.

'It'll be fine, Harry. See you at the Burrow soon, I just have to drop a few things off at home and change out of my work robes, bye!' Hermione smiled again and Flooed back to her house. She was living with her parents again for the time being. They'd taken some time to get over their anger at having their daughter erase her from their memories, but they eventually forgave her and she was living with them again.

Harry groaned again and stepped into the fire. _'This is going to be a very long night,' _he thought dryly.


	2. Good News All Around!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (or any of its subsidiaries) nor do I claim to.

A/N: I'd like to say thank you to everyone who read my first chapter, not to mention my first ever fan fiction, here! I had not expected such a large turnout, though I'm not sure if this is the normal sort of audience most new stories get. Either way, I'm very pleased to see so many are interested and hope that I get many more readers.

I hope you enjoy this chapter and know that I'm trying to lengthen all my chapters from now on. I realize the first was quite short and I'm not pleased with myself. Please, please, please rate and review!!! I live on reviews! Thank you!

One more thing, the inscriptions have been written, but you don't get to see them until Ginny does. Sorry folks!

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Harry very nearly went straight to the Burrow before he remembered that he had business to attend to in Muggle London. He had told the Weasleys that he was going to Hogsmeade, but that was simply to throw them off. Going to Hogsmeade meant he was pretty much stopping by the Three Broomsticks, Hog's Head, Honeydukes, Dervish & Banges, Gladrags, Scrivenshaft's, or the Owl Post Office. Those were all very easily explained and Harry had planned to use the Owl Post Office as his excuse for being late. That way he didn't have to buy anything or drink anything before returning to the Burrow.

He stepped into the fire, threw down his Floo Powder, and called, 'The Leaky Cauldron!' Immediately the green flames engulfed him and a few moments later he appeared in the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron. A few bar patrons turned to look at him and then went about their business. It was commonplace to see a witch or wizard Floo into the bar. Tom smiled at him as he saw Harry approach the bar, his gums pressing together as they always did when Harry stopped by.

'Would you like a drop o' ale, Mr Potter? Maybe a cup o' tea, or a glass o' Firewhiskey?' Tom asked as he held an empty flagon up, clearly hoping Harry would patronize his pub that day.

'No thanks, Tom, I'm in a hurry today. I think I'll stop in for lunch Monday, if I can make it. If not, I'll surely drop by after work for some mead,' Harry replied, stopping only a moment to speak with Tom before continuing on to the door. He nearly stepped out before realizing he was still wearing his work robes. He laughed at himself and waved his wand, effectively transfiguring what he was wearing into a neat three-piece suit with an emerald green waistcoat and matching tie. He checked his reflection in the mirror next to the door and nodded, satisfied with his appearance.

Harry checked the watch given to him by Mrs Weasley on his seventeenth birthday and nodded again, he had just enough time to do what he wanted and get back to the Burrow. He set off, knowing exactly where he was going from numerous forays into London for either business with the Ministry or business of his own. He found the entrance to the Underground and road it for a few blocks to the Tottenham Court Road station. He grimaced at the memory of that particular road from nearly two years ago. He shook himself and headed back up to street level. He made his way to a small jewelry shop that wasn't too far from the Underground station. He'd spotted it several weeks previously when he'd been after an escaped prisoner. He entered, smiling at the girl behind the counter. She held up a finger to indicate she needed to finish with her current customer. The woman, who had apparently broken the gold chain on her necklace in some sort of accident and needed it repaired, thanked the girl and left to the tinkling of bells over the door.

'Hello sir, how may I- Oh my God! You're Harry bloody Potter!' she exclaimed, her delicate hands flying to cover her mouth.

Harry was shocked. He was sure this was a muggle shop; it hadn't been concealed like the Leaky Cauldron. 'How do you know who I am?' he asked, taking a step back. He was ready to run right back out the door and into London if need be.

The girl wasn't someone Harry recognized from Hogwarts, though she looked about his age. She had black hair and a sort of plain face. She was a bit overweight, but she carried herself very well. Her eyes were a rich chocolate brown and it seemed the smile that she now wore never left her face. Her work dress was fairly standard to jewelry shops that Harry had visited, a soft robin's egg blue dress that went down past her knees. When she stepped from behind the counter, Harry saw that was wearing very low heels in a matching blue. And if her name tag was to be believed, her name was Martha.

'Oh please don't go! I'm a squib. My mum's a witch and dad's a wizard and so are my brother and sister, but I never showed any signs of magic and we were told I'm a squib,' she explained, rushing through her words so fast Harry barely kept up. 'I still talk to my brother and he keeps me filled in with what's going on with the wide wizarding world.'

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid she was some fanatic witch who'd lain in wait for Harry when she saw him on the street. It wouldn't have been the first time. In the September following the end of the war, Harry had gone to Diagon Alley to purchase a new set of potion making equipment. His old set had gotten slightly banged up in Hermione's beaded bag and he needed a new set for Auror training. The moment he'd entered Pottidge's Cauldron shop, a witch pulled him inside and slammed the door behind him. She was about four years out of Hogwarts and quite desperate. She'd told him Ginny, who Harry had made sure he was seen with in public so no other witches would assume he was on the market, was no good for him and she needed to be with him. She wouldn't let Harry leave until he declared her undying love to him. Harry, temporarily stunned from this odd turn of events, recovered after a few moments and tried to reason with the woman. She wouldn't have any of it and started getting angry. After Harry told her he'd never leave Ginny for her, she got violent, levitating a heavy pewter cauldron over his head and trying to bludgeon him with it. Harry dodged it and rolled to the side, getting his wand out in the same movement and Stupefying her.

'Oh, alright then,' Harry said awkwardly. 'If you'd like an autograph, you'll have to wait; I'm on fairly urgent personal business and need to get in and out quickly today.'

Martha blushed. 'Oh no, I had no intention of asking for an autograph. What business do you have in my shop, then, Mr Potter?'

Harry smiled at her and stepped back up to the counter. 'My girlfriend's birthday is coming up soon and I wanted to get her a locket. Price is no object, but I don't want it gaudy or flashy, she wouldn't appreciate me throwing my money about just to get her a present. Just something simple and in high-quality silver should do the trick.'

Martha nodded and smiled. 'I have just the thing, follow me.' She led him around the counter to a display of lockets of all kinds and designs, from silver to gold to platinum to ovals to circles to hearts and rectangles. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, garnets, and all of the other precious gem varieties were represented there. It was a stunning collection, but there were only a few Martha pulled out for Harry to look at. 'Here are a few I think you'll like,' she said and lifted out a tray of silver lockets in varying designs.

Harry looked at them, lifted a few, put them back and went about this way for five minutes before he found the one he wanted. 'It's perfect,' he said with a grin. The locket in question was a oval-shaped silver piece polished so well it shone like a star when the light hit it just so. Engraved around the rim on the front and back of the piece were designs of vines and miniscule flowers, the centre of each side was left bare. 'How much do you charge for an inscription?' Harry asked.

'That depends. If it's on the outside of the locket on the front or back, it'll cost £104.80 flat rate, we don't charge by the letter. If you want to engrave inside, it's £125.76. The locket itself costs £174.67,' she replied.

Harry thought about it. He didn't know if he'd rather have the engraving inside or out. 'Could I have both? One inscription on the back of the outside and one on the front of the inside?'

Martha considered it and examined the locket. 'Yes, I think I can swing that,' she said, pulling out a calculator. She added it all up and figured in the sales tax. 'All together that will cost £435.42. Is that alright?' She looked a bit hesitant, as if she thought it was quite a high price.

'That's fine. When d'you think it'll be ready?' he asked, pulling out the small mokeskin bag given to him by Hagrid on his seventeenth birthday that contained his muggle money.

He tended to keep his wizarding money in the coin purse with an Undetectable Extension Charm placed on it so he could carry around large sums without an enormous bag. Because of the charm, it made the purse quite heavy, so Harry carried it in a special pocket he'd asked Mrs Weasley to sew onto several of his robes that would survive a transfiguration like the one he'd had to do to go into Muggle London. He also kept a secondary coin purse in the outside pocket on his robes that contained fake gold like leprechaun gold only it never disappeared. This way, if someone tried to mug Harry, they'd only find the fake gold and make off with it.

'I imagine it should be done in about one week. I just need what you want inscribed on the locket and a picture so we can place it inside for you,' Martha said, seeming happier now that awkward moment about the price passed.

'Sounds great, that's plenty of time,' Harry said and pulled out £450 and handed it to her. 'As for the photo, just give me a ring when you're ready to do that part, I'd like to put a Permanent Sticking Charm on it so it'll never fall out. I'll also ask my friend Hermione Granger to put an Everlasting Preservation Charm on it so the locket won't rust and the picture won't fade or rip.'

Martha looked astounded; she must not have known magic could be used in that way. 'Sure, sounds great,' she said and smiled as she rang up the order and gave him his change. 'Here you go, Mr Potter, is there a phone number I can call you at when we're ready for the picture?'

'Er…hang on,' Harry had forgotten that he did not own a telephone. 'I'll come back tomorrow with that. I need to find somewhere I can get one of those cellular phone things. Do you know anywhere I can find one here in London?'

Martha thought about it for a few moments and pulled out the phone book. She perused it for a few minutes before stopping and pulling out a corded phone from behind the desk. She was halfway to handing it to him when a thought crossed her face. 'Wait, do you want to call or should I? I mean, they'll probably ask to check your credit and considering you don't normally deal with the muggle world that would be tough to explain away.'

Harry thought about it. 'You're right, I can fix it all later with memory charms or something.'

Martha smiled. 'No need, I'll just put it in my name and keep it afterwards or cancel it. Either way. I've fancied getting one for a while now.'

She picked up the phone and called the number for the local dealership and ordered one, saying her boyfriend Harry would come in to pay for it and pick it up. They took her credit information, home address, home telephone number, and a few more details before she hung up.

'All right, it's over at the Covent Garden shopping centre. They said it will be about £150.32. I hope that's okay,' she said, once again appearing to be concerned about the price.

'It's perfectly fine,' Harry replied with a smile. 'Do you mind if I use your back room? I'm on a tight schedule and Apparition is much faster than walking or public transportation.'

'Yeah, that's fine,' Martha replied. 'Just make sure there isn't anyone out here when you come back through. I don't want my boss coming in and thinking I'm hiding men in the storage room to snog between customers.'

Harry laughed and walked to the end of the counter and followed Martha into the back room of the jewelry store.

He paused before entering the back room. 'By the way, Martha? Call me Harry, Mr Potter was my father.'

'Sure, Harry,' she said and smiled as she left the storage room.

He thanked her and waited for the door to close before Disapparating to a dark and dingy alley behind Covent Garden shopping centre. He looked to make sure there were no people around and went in to find the store. Twenty minutes later (after Harry had assured the clerk he was who he said he was and had the correct amount to pay for the phone), Harry made his way back to the alley and Disapparated again, appearing back in the storage room with a soft pop. Harry stuck his head out and, upon seeing no one except for Martha, stepped out.

Martha jumped. 'Jesus Harry! Don't do that!' she exclaimed, her hand flying to her chest. She took a few deep breaths as Harry walked around the counter once more. 'My brother used to do that all the time and he always made me jump!'

'Sorry Martha, I didn't mean to frighten you,' Harry said sincerely. 'I got the phone. They said they gave you the number over the phone.'

Martha smiled shakily. 'It's okay, and yeah, they gave it to me. While you were gone I put it on your order form. When we finish the engraving work, I'll give you ring and you can come in and work your magic and take it home. Sound good?'

'Sounds perfect,' Harry said. He smiled and held his hand out. 'Pleasure doing business with you,' he said.

She shook his hand and smiled. 'The pleasure is all mine, Harry. Do have a good day.'

'I shall,' he said. 'Do you mind if I use your back room again? I don't want to go all the way back to the Leaky Cauldron just to Floo home.'

'Yeah, go ahead. I'll call you in about a week when the locket is ready. Oh! Wait a moment, we forgot the inscriptions.' She smacked herself in the head and pulled out a piece of paper with a picture of an oval-shaped locket back and front and the inside. 'If you could please write your inscriptions and point an arrow to which facings they go on respectively, I'll put that with your order.'

Harry nodded and flushed. He had totally forgotten the inscriptions. He grabbed a pen, figured out how to work it (he was used to a quill these days), and started writing. On the back, he wrote a short, but romantic message to Ginny and on the inside, he wrote just three words. Satisfied, he handed the paper back to Martha and smiled again.

'Thank you, Harry. I'll get right on this, though there are a few orders ahead of yours. I promise you won't be disappointed,' Martha said.

'Thanks! I'll expect your call,' he replied and went back into the back room, closing the door and Apparating back to the Burrow.

Harry appeared just beyond the garden. The Anti-Apparition spell-line (Apparition was still possible inside the Burrow and on the property, but no one could Apparate to the Burrow from elsewhere and no one inside could Apparate to any location beyond the line) that had been put into effect during the war was still on the Burrow, Mr and Mrs Weasley not having seen a good reason to lift it. He entered the garden and braced himself for another surprise party once he entered the kitchen, but it didn't come. Mrs Weasley was busy at the stove supervising several pots being stirred by magic, vegetables being cut the same way, and the wood-burning stove which was cooking what looked like several things at once. No one else was in the kitchen.

'Hey Mrs Weasley,' Harry said when he entered. On his way up the garden path, he'd untransfigured his suit back into his work robes, that way he wouldn't have to explain anything to anyone about where he was after work.

'Oh, hello Harry dear,' Mrs Weasley said brightly. She turned to him and smiled. 'Ginny is upstairs, she arrived home just before you. Ron hasn't finished his work day yet, though. Sorry we couldn't throw you a surprise party, but not everyone could get organized in time.' She looked generously sorry, so much so Harry wanted to hug her.

'Really, it's okay Mrs Weasley. I didn't even want a party in the first place. But, seeing as you've already gone to all the effort to invite everyone, I'm not going to stop you now,' Harry said with a strained smile.

Mrs Weasley smiled again and wrapped Harry in a tight embrace. 'I'm so glad to hear you say that, Harry dear. I dare say you have a few hours before everyone arrives. It should give you a chance to relax after the long day you've had. Would you like anything to eat?'

'No, I'm all right. Thanks, though. I'm going to head upstairs and do a little light reading before the party. I might even take a nap,' he said thoughtfully.

'Okay, Harry. I'll call you down when your first guest arrives,' she replied and turned back to her cooking. Harry left the kitchen and headed for the stairs, grabbing the banister and starting up them two at a time. 'Oh, and Harry? I'd really like it if you started calling me Molly. It's just silly for you to continue calling me Mrs Weasley after all these years,' she said.

Harry stopped, unsure of how to respond. 'Er…all right. Thanks Mrs W- I mean Molly.'

She smiled at him and once again turned back to the stove, prodding a spoon with her wand so it would pick up it's pace. Harry started going up the stairs again, this time a bit more sedately, only taking one at a time. He went to his room, which always had a faint odor of gunpowder from when it belonged to Fred and George, and changed his clothes. He took off his work robes and replaced them with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt with the Gryffindor crest on it. He smiled at the change and tossed on a pair of black house shoes before leaving his room and heading for Ginny's. He tried to be quiet so Molly wouldn't suspect anything, but the creaky staircase didn't help him much. He sighed and just continued on to her door. He knocked three times, stopped, and knocked twice more. It was he and Ginny's secret knock, they'd developed it when Ron had knocked one day on Harry's door and Harry had answered with a, 'Hello gorgeous.' Ron really didn't appreciate it and would not let Harry live it down for weeks.

Ginny opened the door and smiled at Harry. She looked tired. Of course, Gwenog Jones had probably worked them hard in practice that day. They had a game the next day, after all, they were facing Puddlemere United, the team Harry's former Gryffindor team captain Oliver Wood played Keeper for. Harry was at a loss as to who to cheer for. His girlfriend played Chaser on the reserve team for the Holyhead Harpies (and had since she graduated Hogwarts a month and a half previously), but Oliver was a very good friend and colleague. If he hadn't brought the old Gryffindor Quidditch team to the Battle of Hogwarts, it's possible they could have lost more innocent people to the Death Eaters.

'Hello beautiful,' Harry said, kissing Ginny lightly on the lips.

Ginny laughed and pulled him into her room. The room Harry had been in two years ago hadn't changed much. Recently, Ginny had taken the large poster of her team captain off the wall in favor of a dark green poster bearing the legend 'Support the Holyhead Harpies!' with the team insignia of a large golden talon under it. There were also several pictures of Harry adorning the wall directly opposite her bed, along with a few of him, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. There were also, Harry knew, several pictures featuring just Harry and Ginny in a shoebox under her bed. It wasn't that Ginny didn't want her mum to see them; it was that they were special and she didn't want to share them with anyone.

'Oh sod off, I'm so far from beautiful I need Omnioculars to see the tail end of beautiful. You, on the other hand, are the most handsome man I've ever seen.' She shut the door behind them and pressed him against it, sliding her hands up to play with his hair as she kissed him passionately.

Harry smiled into the kiss and playfully bit Ginny's bottom lip. They stayed like this for several minutes before Harry finally had to come up for air. He panted and pulled Ginny to the bed, silently casting the Colloportus spell on her bedroom door. They sat on the bed and just gazed at each other for a few moments. They exchanged a few more tender kisses, but that was all. They weren't about to do anything more with Ginny's mother home and her father on his way.

'So how was your day?' Ginny asked. 'Aside from being promoted, I mean.'

Harry groaned and flopped back onto the white bedspread. It was darned in a few places and looked like it was a bit too short for Ginny to still use it at night, but otherwise it was a very comfortable bedspread.

'It was hectic. I had to run cases all day, a few of them solo,' Harry replied. 'There was this one bloke who kept on trying to convince me he was the Minister of Magic! Never mind he was 152 centimetres and was pale as a ghost. I had to take him to St. Mungo's before I could take him to Azkaban, just to get his head checked.' He sighed and interlaced his fingers with Ginny's. 'How was your day, Gin?'

Ginny smiled and lay down next to him. 'Oh, it was alright. I owled Andromeda like you asked me to, then I went out back and warmed up on my broom before Quidditch practice. Apparently one of the starting Chasers fell off her broom yesterday and they want to put me in as a starter tomorrow!'

Harry smiled and hugged her. 'That's wonderful news! We'll have to announce it tonight at the party. Maybe after you win the game for them tomorrow you'll be a permanent starter.'

Ginny grinned back. 'Maybe, but I doubt Tess will be happy about me taking her spot.'

Harry kissed her. 'If you're better than her, I don't see a reason why she should replace you.'

Ginny laughed and kissed his cheek. 'You're very sweet, but I've only been on the team for a month and a half, she's been a starting Chaser for four years. The only reason Gwenog decided to bring me on was because the other two reserve Chasers declined the offer.'

Harry kissed her nose, a gesture of affection he'd grown quite fond of. 'Yeah, well, at least you get to play. I can't wait to watch you tomorrow, though I will have some trouble deciding who to cheer on. After all, I have friends on both teams.'

Ginny growled low in her throat, though it sounded more like a throaty purr, and rolled on top of him. 'You had best be rooting for the Harpies, your girlfriend plays on that team.'

Harry grinned. 'Are you going to make me?' he asked as he locked her legs with his.

'You are a wicked, wicked boy Harry Potter,' Ginny replied. 'A very wicked man. You know I can't make you when Mum's around.'

'Bad luck for you then, eh?' Harry said, licking her lip suggestively.

'Wicked man,' she whispered, kissing him again. She effortlessly slid her tongue into his mouth and Harry responded eagerly. They battled tongues for a few minutes before they heard feet of the stairs.

They broke apart as if struck by lightning. Those thundering steps meant one of two things, Ron was home or the ghoul had gotten loose from the attic again and was banging down the stairs. Since the noise was ascending rather than descending, they pretty much knew that Ron was coming up. Harry turned to Ginny and kissed her, indicating with an upward pointing finger that he was going to Apparate to his room. She nodded and kissed him back before Harry stood and Disapparated. He reappeared in his room just in time for Ron to barrel through the door.

'You got promoted!' Ron shouted. It was lucky that he hadn't suspected anything. He still wasn't okay with his baby sister dating, but there was nothing he could do about it now that Ginny could do magic away from school as she'd demonstrated many times to him with her infamous Bat-Bogey Hex.

Harry grinned, hoping Ron wouldn't notice the fact that he was quite flushed. 'Yeah, full-fledged Auror. Can you believe it?'

'Believe it? I've been saying for a year now that you should have just gone straight through! I can't believe it took them this bloody long!' He shook Harry's hand vigorously and sat on the chair in the corner. 'This is wild! And get this, George introduced me to the press as his business partner today!'

'Congratulations mate! Looks like everyone has good news today, though I think I'll let Ginny tell you hers at the party tonight. We'll have to announce yours as well. At least it won't be party for just me; you know how I hate all the attention.'

'Yeah, I think we all know that, Harry,' Ron said dryly. 'I'd be surprised if all of America didn't know about it.'

'Oh sod off, Ron,' Harry retorted, throwing an empty chocolate frog box at his best mate. It struck him right on the nose and Harry laughed.

Ron picked it up and tossed it up once and caught it. 'Think that's funny, do ya?' he asked and pulled his wand out, standing up in the same motion. Harry stood too, pulling his own wand.

They both knew that they were only having fun, but, aside from the smiles on their faces, it looked to any casual observer like they were entering into a duel to the death. Ron tossed the box into the air and waved his wand in an odd striking gesture, as if he was smashing something. The box stayed airborne and flew at Harry, hitting him round the head. Harry shouted and tried to block the blows with his hands, but the box went around them. Ron laughed as Harry cast a Shield Charm, causing the box to harmlessly bounce on the invisible barrier. Ron could not stop laughing and fell to the floor, the spell he'd placed on the box releasing. The box fell to the floor and Harry let his Shield Charm release.

When Ron had calmed down enough to stand, Harry helped him to his feet. 'What spell was that?' he asked as Ron sat back down.

'Well,' Ron replied with a sly grin, 'I told George about the spell Dumbledore used on your family when he collected you before sixth year, you know the one. When he made their glasses attack them?'

Harry laughed darkly at the memory of three glasses of mead bouncing on the heads of the Dursley family. 'Oh yes, I remember.'

'I told George about it and we had an idea,' Ron said, still trying to suppress his mirth. 'What if you had a set of glasses or tumblers that hit unwary drinkers round the head? Or maybe a bottle of Butterbeer that came back to crack you over the head when you threw it away? So we experimented with a few spells and George even owled McGonagall to ask her if she knew the one that Dumbledore had used. Eventually, after she wrote him back and told him, we worked on it and created this new spell, though I'm actually a bit better at it than George. After we tested it a few times to get it perfect, we went to the Ministry to run the spell by the Committee on Experimental Charms; they apparently have to approve any new spell, charm, hex, or curse being used in a business.'

Harry nodded, he'd heard George arguing with Verity about a new hex they'd been testing and whether or not they needed to take it to the Committee when he was having dinner with George and his new girlfriend Angelina Johnson.

'So we went there and showed it to them a few times and they approved it. Turns out, George made me a partner because of that spell!' Ron exclaimed. He laughed. 'I guess, in a way, I have you to thank for telling me about that spell.'

'Happy to help,' Harry replied. 'Any time I remember another person using a funny spell, I'll be sure to let you know.'

Ron grinned and sighed. 'It was brilliant today. We sold out of the new tumblers and bottles that we put the spell on. The Daily Prophet wanted a demonstration, so I handed a glass to Rita Skeeter.'

Harry laughed. 'You did not!'

Ron laughed as well, his face turning red from suppressed mirth. 'Yes, I did! She said earlier that she didn't think we were real and she dragged you into it. She said that George and I wouldn't have a shop if it weren't for you; apparently, somebody leaked the information about you giving Fred and George their start-up funds. Anyway, I hand it to her, and she just stares at it. It didn't do anything. We explained it only worked if you try to drink out of it, so she scoffs and conjures water into the glass and drinks it in one. Well, the glass did exactly what it was designed to and started beating her about her head, so it's a good thing we put Reinforcement Charms on all the ones we made. We'll probably read about it in the Evening Prophet.'

By this point, Harry was rolling on his bed and laughing, tears streaming down his face. Just the image in his mind of a glass hitting Rita Skeeter in the head was enough for him to summon the strongest Patronus ever.

'That is the funniest thing ever!' Harry said when he finally calmed down. He wiped his eyes on his bedspread and stood up. 'So did…'

But Harry was cut off by Mrs Weasley's voice coming up the stairs. 'Harry! Ginny! Andromeda just sent a Patronus asking you to come and pick up Teddy!'

Harry smacked his forehead and picked his wand up from where he'd dropped it on the floor. He'd nearly forgotten that he needed to pick up his godson. He told Ron he'd be back later and raced down the stairs, meeting Ginny on the way.

'Why d'you think Andromeda wants me over?' she asked as they ran down the stairs hand in hand.

'Dunno,' Harry replied. 'You know she likes to see you.'

'Yeah,' she replied, 'you're right.'

They made it to the kitchen and said a quick goodbye to Mrs Weasley without stopping on their way to the door. They ran out, Harry behind Ginny, and stopped just outside the garden. They both spun on the spot, clutching their wands, and Apparated to Andromeda's house. They arrived just in front of her front lawn and grasped hands again before heading to the front door. Harry knocked and entered, not waiting for Andromeda to answer. He was there often enough to not even need to knock, but it was still perfunctory to him. He found Andromeda playing with Teddy in the living room, surrounded by toys. Today, the baby's hair was a very familiar bubblegum pink. Harry was immediately reminded of Teddy's late mother, Nymphadora Tonks (though she liked to be referred to by her surname only), and smiled at the memory of her. When he saw Harry, Ted's eyes flashed from baby blue to a startling shade of violet, so far his favorite color.

'Sorry I'm late, Drom!' he said, immediately picking up Teddy and making a funny face. 'It's been quite the long day.'

'I understand perfectly, Harry,' she replied with a smile. 'I just needed to get ready for your party tonight and didn't want to leave little Teddy by himself in the house.'

'That makes sense,' Ginny replied, stealing the baby from Harry and hefting him. 'You are getting so big!'

'Ginny, can I have a word?' Andromeda said, again with a smile on her face. Harry couldn't see anything out of the ordinary about her. She'd been gardening that day, as her robes were covered in dirt and mud and her face had dirty streaks on it.

Ginny cocked her head rather like a curious cat and handed Teddy back to Harry. 'Yeah, sure. Lead the way.'

Andromeda pinched Ted's cheek and led Ginny to the kitchen. Ted smiled at Harry and his hair turned electric blue. Harry grinned and set him down on the floor as he strained his ears to hear what the ladies were talking about. He debated summoning an extendable ear from home, but decided against it. It was probably nothing. Instead, he focused on playing trains with Teddy while the portrait of Remus Lupin and his late wife Tonks over the fire smiled down at them.

'Wotcher Harry!' Tonks said merrily. Even in her portrait, Tonks' hair was a vibrant shade of pink to match her son's. 'We heard you were promoted, congratulations!'

'Yes, Harry,' Lupin added softly, 'congratulations.'

Harry smiled at them. 'Thank you both, how's Ted been today?' he asked. He knew giving them any excuse to talk about their son was ensuring he wouldn't be able to leave for at least twenty minutes, but he liked to hear them talk to him. It gave him the illusion that they were still alive.

'Oh he's been just fine,' Tonks said lovingly. 'He got a little fussy before his afternoon nap, but it was alright.'

'You should be very proud of him today, Harry,' Lupin said, not letting Harry speak after Tonks did. It was obvious he was bursting to spread his news. 'He said his first complete sentence today!'

Harry smiled. 'He did, did he?' He looked to his godson who had already tired of the conversation concerning him. 'What did you say little man?' Ted looked up at Harry and grinned. It looked like his molars were coming in on the bottom. That would be so much fun. Harry had freaked out when Teddy wouldn't stop crying when his first teeth came in.

'He said, "Mummy where is Nanna?" I was so proud!' Tonks said, tears brimming in her eyes.

Harry laughed delightedly and picked Teddy up, swinging him around. Ted giggled and his hair started switching rapidly through all the colors of the rainbow, so happy was he. Harry laughed and jumped onto a couch, careful to not jostle his charge too much. Teddy was still laughing though. Harry hugged the baby lightly to his chest just as Andromeda and Ginny came back in, they were laughing as well, though they stopped briefly upon seeing Harry.

'Oho! What have you lads gotten up to, eh?' Andromeda asked. She came over and ruffled her grandson's now turquoise hair. 'I take it Remus and Dora told you the news?'

'Yes they did!' Harry said, letting go of Teddy so he could move around a bit. 'It's just wonderful!' He turned his head to Teddy who was looking around and grasping his tiny hands at Ginny. 'You want to go see Aunty Ginny mate?'

Ginny smiled brightly and picked Teddy up from Harry's chest. Teddy giggled merrily and started tugging on her bright red hair, his own changing to match her shade. 'So you like my hair, do you?' Ginny laughed and swung him up to sit on her shoulders, straddling her neck. He laughed again and started lifting Ginny's hair and tugging it.

'So what were you two talking about?' Harry asked, sitting up and looking from Andromeda to Ginny.

They shared a conspiratorial look and grinned. 'Nothing,' they chorused and laughed, Teddy laughing with them.

'Riiiiiight,' Harry said, observing them with the suspiciously trained eye of an Auror. 'I'll get it out of Ginny somehow.' He threw a wicked grin Ginny's way and stuck his tongue out.

Ginny laughed and lifted Ted from her hair, though he tried to keep a hold of some of her hair. Andromeda chuckled and helped Ginny by gently releasing her hair from her grandson's grip.

'Now you three, shoo! It takes a while for people of my advanced years to comport ourselves and make it look like we're young again,' Andromeda said, flipping her hands in a shooing gesture.

Harry laughed. 'Advanced years? You must be joking! You don't look a day over twenty-nine!' Andromeda laughed louder and blushed. It appeared she could still be affected by praise. Harry advanced and gently pried Ted from her arms. 'You ready to go mate?'

Ted smiled and giggled. 'Yeah Hawwy!'

Harry was overjoyed. 'You are really cottoning on to this talking bit, aren't you?' He smiled happily and started towards the door. 'Gin, could you grab his teddy? He gets so fussy when he doesn't have it with him at the Burrow.'

'Of course, anything for little Teddy,' Ginny replied, swooping to pick up the slightly tattered teddy bear from the floor. It was missing an eye, but no one would ever throw it away or fix it. Lupin had given it to him just before departing for Hogwarts with Tonks, so it had become the last present Teddy had received from his father and none could bear to do anything but keep it with the baby at all times.

'All right,' Andromeda said. 'I'll see you in about one and a half hours, no less. Now go! Otherwise I'll have to wait longer for my bath!'

Harry tittered and waited for her to give Ted a last kiss on the forehead before leaving. He followed Ginny to the end of the sidewalk, carrying a very happy Teddy, and waited for her to Disapparate before doing the same. He clutched Teddy tight to his chest, grasped his wand firmly in his opposite hand, and turned on the spot. He appeared instantaneously just outside the garden at the Burrow, finding Ginny waiting for him. Harry stowed his wand in the pocket of his jeans, then took Ginny's hand and walked up the path with her, opening the door for her one handed.

''Arry!' came a booming voice from the garden. Harry spun, Teddy giggling shrilly in his arms.

Harry's face broke into the biggest smile he'd worn that day. Ginny extracted Teddy from his arms quickly and Harry ran to throw his arms around the second biggest man he'd ever met. Rubeus Hagrid had come to the party. Hagrid hadn't changed one bit since the end of the war, in appearance nor in personality. He gave Harry a customary rib-cracking hug, lifting Harry up off the ground.

After Harry finished coughing and surreptitiously feeling his ribs for literal cracks, he grinned up at Harry. 'Hello Hagrid! I'm so happy you could come today!'

'Me too, 'Arry, me too. Congratulations on yer promotion! 'Ow ya been? I haven' seen you, Ron, or Hermione since June at Ginny and Hermione's graduation,' Hagrid said, beaming down at him. ''Ow's little Teddy? I brough' 'im a present.' He smiled and rooted around in the pockets of his trousers until he found what he was looking for. 'Me dad gave this ter me when I was a baby.'

Harry put out his hands and Hagrid pressed something small and wooden into them. Harry held it up to the dying light and examined it. It was a very care-worn box, made out of the softest wood Harry had ever felt, with a hinged lid. Harry opened it and found a snarled mess of interconnected metal rings.

'Er, thanks Hagrid,' Harry pulled the metals rings out. They clinked together softly, sounding quite similar to the sound made by a lute or harp. 'What is this?'

'Tha's a puzzle, 'Arry. If ya can get all those rings to form a circle, it sounds like a song. Me dad made it 'imself,' Hagrid said proudly. 'I was never good at it meself, but I go' it when I was round five. In the meantime, it makes fun noises for Teddy.'

Harry smiled again. 'Thanks Hagrid,' he said, putting the puzzle back into the box and handed it back to his friend. 'You wanna give it to him yourself? I'm sure he'd be simply delighted. He always loves seeing you, Hagrid.'

'Tha' would be lovely, Harry,' Hagrid said with a huge smile. 'Oh! I almos' fergot, I got yer birthday present back at me hut. Where's yer party goin' ter be?'

Harry groaned. In all the preparation he'd been doing for Ginny's upcoming birthday, he'd completely forgotten about his own coming up on the next Saturday. 'I don't even know, Hagrid. I hadn't spared it a thought!'

'Hadn' spared it a thought? What're ya on about, Harry?' Hagrid looked genuinely shocked; like it was outrageous anyone could ever forget their own birthday.

'Honestly, I've just been so busy at work and Ginny's birthday is only a week and half after mine, August eleventh. I just hadn't really thought about it,' Harry said, smiling sheepishly up at Hagrid. 'Nineteen really isn't that big of a birthday, is it?'

''Course it is, Harry! Every birthday is somat special! Ya know, me dad never lived ter see any of me birthdays past twelve,' Hagrid said somberly.

Harry sobered immediately. Even though his own parents hadn't lived to see any of his own birthdays past his first, he hadn't had to endure Hagrid's childhood. 'You're right, Hagrid, I'm sorry. I'll figure out somewhere to have a party, don't worry.'

Hagrid smiled again, pleased by this news. 'Good, that's very good, Harry. And I wanted ter tell ya something in confidence, Harry.' Hagrid leaned down to whisper in Harry's ear. 'Professor McGonagall made me Head o' Gryffindor House!'

Harry balked, staring at Hagrid before he laughed and hugged him again, his mouth breaking into another wide grin. 'That's excellent Hagrid! Congratulations! It's just a day for good news! I've been promoted, Ron's been made partner in the joke shop, Ginny's playing starting Chaser tomorrow at the Harpies' game, Teddy said his first sentence, and you've been made Head of Gryffindor! You know I'm going to have to announce this tonight, right? We're announcing everyone else's news as well,' Harry said. With all the good news circulating around, they were all going to be drunk just from the numerous toasts they'd be giving to one another.

'Naw, ya don' have ter go and do tha'!' Hagrid said, panicking slightly.

'Of course I do! Come on, let's go get the tables and set them up. We're going to have one hell of a party tonight!'

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A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed that. It was a bit longer and I'm very pleased about this. Though this will most likely be the limit for the length of my chapters. I hope to make up for this with more chapters than I was originally intending. Please rate and review!


	3. One Hell of a Party

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (or any of its subsidiaries) nor do I claim to.

A/N: I am frankly amazed by the number of people who like to read my story. It's very…satisfying and makes me want to get working on my own work of independent fiction. Not to fret, though, I will finish what I have started. I have too much of a loyalty/honesty complex to abandon anything I've set my mind to work on. I will finish this story as fast as I can without shortening or butchering the plot I've set. I hope you enjoy this next installment entitled 'One Hell of a Party.'

Also, I'd like to apologize for not posting this sooner. I was experiencing issues logging in and uploading this chapter. Sorry for the delay everyone!

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Harry smiled as he surveyed his and Hagrid's handy work. Originally they'd only had two long tables to work with, but Mrs Weasley had assured them that they would not be enough. So, Harry had to use his wand. He had worked a complicated bit of magic expanding the length of the tables and also adding legs and Reinforcement Charms so they would not collapse under the weight they'd be under soon. After that, Harry had joined the tables together with magic so there would be no seams in the wood. They had also rounded up all the chairs the Weasleys owned and Harry had to conjure several more, along with a chair that could hold Hagrid's immense weight.

'Will Grawp be joining us tonight, Hagrid?' Harry asked with some trepidation as they set up a few more chairs in the Weasley's backyard. They situated Hagrid's much larger chair at one end of the table, the same end at which Harry was planning to seat himself with Ginny, Ron, and Hermione.

Hagrid chuckled. 'No, Harry. Molly said she barely had enough food ter feed me an' Ron, much less Grawpy. No, I left him back at the castle. He's comin' along great, Grawp is,' Hagrid said with a swelling chest.

Hagrid had been training his giant half-brother as his assistant ever since the end of the Second Wizarding War. Initially, it had seemed Grawp would not be fit to do so, but Hagrid was patient. The last Harry had seen, Grawp was petting Buckbeak with one enormous finger and cooing to him softly. Buckbeak had seemed pleased and had not seen fit to snap at the unintelligent giant.

'That's great Hagrid, really great. How is his English coming along?' Harry asked, just trying to make conversation. He wasn't exactly paying his full attention; he'd seen Ginny passing in the garden and was temporarily transfixed by the way her hair shimmered and danced in the growing darkness. She was trying to quickly de-gnome the garden so they wouldn't come out and harass the party guests. Consequentially he missed what Hagrid said in response and had to ask him to repeat himself.

Hagrid laughed robustly at this. 'Nah, I won't bore you with me stories about Grawp, although he has been gettin' a lot better. I'm sure ya was just bein' polite, Harry. How're things goin' with you and Ginny? Last I heard you two was gettin' pretty serious.' There was a knowing glint in Hagrid's eye. This was one of those times that Hagrid demonstrated his startlingly sharp wit and keen eye for detail. Not many suspected him of this quality, but Harry had been friends with Hagrid for nearly ten years and he knew that Hagrid was much smarter than anyone made him out to be.

'We're doing very well, thank you,' Harry said. He leaned in close and stood on his toes, motioning for Hagrid to bend down so he could whisper into his ear. 'I just got her a silver locket for her birthday.'

Hagrid grinned under his heavy beard and mustache as he stood up. 'That's right nice of ya Harry. I'm sure she'll love it.'

'Who'll love what?' asked a voice from directly behind Harry. Harry felt his face flush as he turned. It was Hermione. 'Who'll love what Harry?'

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. In his mind, it had been Ginny standing behind him and he'd projected that to his ears, so he'd thought he was hearing Ginny's voice. 'Would you keep it down, Hermione?'

Hermione quirked an eyebrow and whispered, 'Who will love what?' She had changed out of her Ministry work robes in favor of jeans and a long-sleeved Weird Sisters t-shirt. Though it was nearing the end of July, they were experiencing a peculiar cold snap, causing everyone to wear a bit more clothing.

Harry leaned close to her so she could hear better and so the sound would have to travel less. He explained what he'd done for Ginny's birthday and Hermione smiled. 'Oh, Harry, you romantic sod! I can't believe you didn't tell be before now.'

Harry grinned. 'How am I supposed to keep any secrets that way?' He checked the charm on the enlarged chair and nodded before bending down to check the semi-soft ground under it. 'Do you think you can come with me when I pick it up to put the picture on? I can do a Permanent Sticking Charm, but I haven't quite mastered the Everlasting Preservation Charm yet.'

Hermione smiled a little wider, it seemed she was pleased that Harry wanted to include her in his plan. 'Of course I'll come with you, Harry. It would be my pleasure.'

Harry smiled back and hugged her before bending back down. 'Thanks, Hermione. Would you mind helping me a moment? The second Hagrid tries to sit in it, the legs will sink straight into the ground.'

Hagrid laughed a great belly laugh. 'Thanks Harry, Hermione. I'm just gonna go an' help Ginny with the gnomes.'

Harry nodded and tried to think of a spell or charm he could use to make the ground under the chair less permeable. 'What do you think Hermione? A Hardening Charm or a Moisture Removal Hex?' Harry asked. A Hardening Charm would, of course, make the ground directly under the chair much harder, but if it did not extend low enough, that part would just sink anyway. The Moisture Removal Hex, on the other hand, was an unknown element. It was originally invented to dry parchment or to remove liquid from a potion when too much had been added, though Harry theorized that if they applied it the right way, the soil would pack tighter together, making it less permeable and less easy to permit the chair to sink.

'How about a strong Hardening Charm? Like the one I used on that tapestry last year when were escaping the Death Eaters?' Hermione suggested, shaking her head at the mention of the Moisture Removal Hex. 'We can both cast it and it should be strong enough.'

Harry nodded and pointed his wand directly under the centre of the chair and muttering, 'Duro.' Hermione did the same and they both stood, satisfied with their work.

'Do you know how many are coming tonight, Hermione? We might as well set the table while we're out here,' he asked her, curious to how many had been invited.

'Well,' Hermione replied, 'between Mrs Weasley and me, we sent out sixteen invitations. Then you have to take into account the fact that Professor Slughorn tagged along with Professor McGonagall, there should be seventeen others coming. I didn't count you, Ron, Ginny, Ted, Mr and Mrs Weasley, or myself so we should set twenty-four places in total.'

Harry nodded and summoned a large, gold- and white-striped tablecloth to him from a closet within the Burrow and, together with Hermione, draped it over the table. Hermione had taught Harry a different version of the traditional Summoning Charm, where the object or objects being summoned simply disappear from one place and appear in another. It came in handy and was much simpler than the one Harry had learned in his fourth year at Hogwarts, especially since the objects didn't collide with any people or other things on their way to the summoner. They had to cast an Enlargement Charm on it so it would fit over both of the conjoined tables. After making sure the cloth wouldn't move around with a Temporary Sticking Charm, they summoned plates, silverware, glasses, and crystal champagne flutes from within the house, setting each the places by magic and having to enlarge Hagrid's entire place setting, going so far as to replace his champagne flute and cup with a large tankard Hermione conjured, at the head of the table. After they'd finished setting the table, they saw it was growing dark and decided to conjure some candles and levitate them over the table so there would be light later on, much like the house tables in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. They quickly conjured them, using the variety of candle that vanished its own wax so the guests would not have to experience the uncomfortable feeling of hot wax dripping on their heads or their food for that matter.

'So do you have any news, Hermione? Everyone seems to today,' Harry asked as they walked back towards the kitchen.

'No, none that I can think of, though I know what you mean, of course,' Hermione said as they entered the kitchen. 'Ginny told me about playing as starting Chaser tomorrow and of course Ron owled me as soon as he got out of the press conference to tell me about being made George's business partner. I'm so proud of him.'

Harry nodded. Of course Hermione, Ron's girlfriend, would have been told Ron's news before Harry. They found Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley, Bill, and Fleur in the kitchen waiting for Harry.

'Heya Harry!' Bill said with a grin. His scars from the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback, still stood out stark against his pallid Weasley complexion. He held a hand out to Harry and smiled as Harry shook it. Bill still looked very cool, his red hair back in a pony tail and his fang earring glinting in the light. He had tried to persuade Harry to get his own ear pierced on his eighteenth birthday, but Harry and, more importantly, Ginny had refused. 'Congratulations on the promotion mate!'

'Thanks Bill, good to see you again,' Harry replied, smiling. Bill was always a fun person to be around. 'And how are you, Fleur?' Harry asked as he extended his arms.

Fleur smiled and gave him a hug, kissing him on both cheeks as always. 'I am very good, Harry,' she said in a much better accent than Harry was used to; she'd obviously been practicing. 'I must also congratulate you, well done.'

Harry flushed. Fleur always had a way of making any male do so. Just then, Ginny slid a hand around Harry's waist and pressed her side against his. 'Hey Bill, Fleur. How are you two getting on?' she asked, eying Fleur with a slight bit of distaste. She never really had truly liked her sister-in-law, though she had grown to respect her much more after the Battle of the Astronomy tower when her brother had been wounded and Fleur had taken care of him. 'Mum said you two have some news of your own to report tonight, fancy telling me what it is?'

'You'll find out when everyone else does tonight, Gin,' Bill said good naturedly. 'How are the two of you doing? We hardly get any letters or see you these days.' Bill wasn't exactly admonishing them, but from his tone he was slightly disappointed.

'We're doing grand, Bill, we really are,' said Harry. Ginny beamed at him and kissed his cheek, standing on her toes to do so. 'Well, I'd best go change. I reckon I'm not in my best clothes to attend a party.'

Bill and Fleur nodded, Fleur nodding a bit more emphatically. Harry slipped out of Ginny's hold and retreated upstairs to change into a long sleeved red and black striped t-shirt with a moving photo of a dragon on it. Charlie had gotten the shirt for him in Romania right before he'd left to work closer to home in a remote area of Wales. There was a dragon preserve up there and Mrs Weasley was much more cheerful with him closer to home.

Harry nodded at his reflection and was just about to leave until he heard a sharp sound coming from his window. He turned and saw a very familiar eagle owl sitting on the sill, a letter in its beak. Harry frowned and drew his wand, waving it to open the window and temporarily let down his security wards he'd placed on it. The eagle owl soared in and lit upon Harry's chest of drawers.

His room was somewhat larger than Ron's at the top of the house, but less cluttered. There was a chair in one corner and the chest of drawers next to it that Harry kept his underpants and socks in along with most of his trousers. In the bottom drawer, however, was his stash of dark detectors and defensive objects he'd either purchased from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and other shops. In the opposite corner was a desk so he could work from home if he felt the need, it had been a gift from Kingsley because Harry had been complaining about it to him one day. Next to his bed was a night table with a lamp on it and a drawer he kept emergency supplies like Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder for, Merlin forbid, a dark wizard broke into his room. Also in this drawer was the photo album Hagrid had given to him, now expanded with similar pictures to the ones Ginny kept in her room.

Harry strode forward and hesitantly took the letter from the beak of the owl. It ruffled its feathers and began to preen itself, clearly waiting for Harry to read the letter and respond to it. Harry opened the letter with the familiar wax seal of a large M and quickly scanned it, seeing the handwriting he was expecting, but being completely thrown by the message. It read:

_Potter-_

_My father has gone missing. I know you've never had anything but bad feelings toward us and us towards you, but I am asking for your help. I assure you, we have reformed ourselves. You know how much this must kill me to ask this of you, though I feel I must. I need your help in locating him. I think he may have been kidnapped or worse. Mother is worried and keeps asking me to do something about it. You were the only one I could think of to help us, as an Auror and a good man. Please, I urge you to look past our differences and help me. I will assist you in any way I can, I'll even pay you on the side to help look for him. Understand that when I say help, I mean that you and I will have to look together._

_I know that this would normally be a case for the Missing Persons Department in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but I do not feel comfortable going to them. The wizarding community has shown in the past to not trust the Malfoy family after the war. You are the only one I can trust. Bring along Weasley and Granger if you must, but beyond them this must be kept quiet, anyone could be behind this._

_Kindly respond to this by return of my owl. He will wait for you to reply. Thank you, Potter._

_Draco_

Harry was shocked and he had to sit down on his bed to think about it. He shook himself and thought hard on the matter at hand as the owl stared at him unblinkingly from its perch. Why would Draco Malfoy, one of the few people in the world that Harry truly hated, turn to him for help in finding one of the other few people that he hated, Lucius Malfoy? It was obvious and stated in the letter; he couldn't trust anyone because there were any number of people that wanted to see all of the Malfoy family dead or gone. It was common knowledge that many at the Ministry thought that they ought not to have gotten off after their part in the war, no matter when they'd decided to switch sides. The thing was Harry had stood up for them, citing the fact that Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother, had saved his life from Voldemort in the end. Harry was caught in a quandary, should he help them or should he let Lucius suffer at the hands of his possible captor? The answer was simple. No matter how much he loathed that family, no matter how much suffering they had caused, Harry could not simply sit by and turn his back on them. They were still people after all and Harry had pledged his life to serving all of wizard kind, not just those he liked.

Harry reluctantly went to his desk and pulled out an eagle feather quill and parchment. He wet the quill in one of his bottles of black ink and started writing.

_Draco-_

_As difficult as it is for me to say this, I'll help you. Just know that if this is a trick or some kind of ploy to get rid of me, I will not hesitate to kill you. Send me a time and place to meet you and I will be there, just not tonight. I am busy this evening. I admit I was very surprised to receive your letter, I'd never expected to hear from you again especially after what happened the last time we saw each other. I do hope you've grown out of your habit of sneering at everyone who isn't a pure-blood. Otherwise it will be very difficult for me to be around you, likewise for Hermione. In fact, if you dare to utter that hateful word, you know the one I mean, in our presence, not only will I leave, but Ron will most likely hex you._

_If this pans out as a kidnapping or worse, rest assured you will have my full confidence and help in finding the one who did it._

_Harry_

Harry cast a Drying Charm on the ink and folded it before putting in an envelope. He heated the wax he kept in the drawer closest to his right hand and carefully dripped a small amount onto the back of the envelope, pressing his own seal into it. His seal was simply his first and last initial bisected by a lightning bolt. It had not been his idea, but he had grown fond of the seal after a short while and now used it every time he sent a letter. He rooted around until he found an owl treat in one of the drawers; they had been Hedwig's favorite brand and he still could not bear to throw them away. He stood and fist gave the treat to Malfoy's owl, which devoured it happily, then he gave it the letter.

'Now I know I'm not your master,' Harry said to it, looking it in the eye. 'But I won't be in my room this evening to receive any replied he might send. I'll leave the window open at the bottom, so you can drop his reply through there. Have a safe flight.' Harry held his arm out and the owl climbed on, seeming pleased by the information Harry had given it. He held his arm out the window and there was a sudden pressure and small gust as the owl took off into the purple sky. Harry lowered the window so there was a slot just large enough for a letter to fit through at the bottom, then turned to leave. He stopped, went back to the desk, and left another treat on the outside sill.

He left his room then, heading back downstairs. He had decided while writing the letter that he would wait for Malfoy's reply before he told Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. He didn't want to spoil their evenings and a message from Malfoy, no matter how benign, was sure to do so. So he plastered a smile on his face and entered the kitchen again. A few more guests had arrived since he went upstairs to change. Kingsley Shacklebolt was talking to Minerva McGonagall near the stove while Horace Slughorn was laughing heartily at a joke told by George Weasley, who was accompanied by Angelina Johnson. Oliver Wood was pouring a drink for his girlfriend Alicia Spinnet as she spoke with Katie Bell and Ginny.

As far as Harry knew, those were the only guests that had arrived so far. He caught a glimpse of Molly through the open door as she carried Teddy to the table. He stepped off the last stair and started towards Kingsley, but he was almost immediately sidetracked by a flash of blonde hair outside the kitchen window. He squinted and looked, but could not see anything. He strode over and smiled at Alicia and Katie, lacing his fingers through Ginny's.

'Hey Alicia, hey Katie! How are you two doing?' Harry asked, smiling at the both of them.

'Hey Harry!' they chorused together. 'Congratulations!' Alicia said and Katie echoed her. 'We were just telling Ginny how great it is that she's playing starting Chaser in tomorrow's game.'

Harry and Ginny smiled at them and thanked them. 'Do you mind if I borrow Ginny for a few moments?' They nodded and turned back to Oliver, striking up a conversation concerning Puddlemere United's chances of winning against the Holyhead Harpies.

'What's up Harry?' Ginny asked in an undertone. She'd heard the urgency in Harry's voice, it seemed.

'I think we have an unwelcome visitor here,' Harry replied as he quickly led Ginny out into the living room. Immediately it was clear that Harry was right, the window was open and there were muddy footprints on the floor leading towards the bathroom. Harry held a finger to his lips and drew his wand, Ginny doing the same.

They went over to the bathroom and Harry threw it open, he and Ginny pointing their wands at the culprit. It was Rita Skeeter, clearly seeking to find a story that was juicier than the events of earlier that day at the press conference. She was wearing a dark cloak and had her blonde hair tightly curled and piled on top of her head. When she saw Harry and Ginny, she tried to draw her wand, most likely to transfigure into her Animagus form.

'Expelliarmus!' Harry shouted, letting Ginny catch the wand that came zooming from Rita's pocket. 'Rita, Rita, Rita,' Harry said, clucking his tongue in disapproval. 'How many times do we have to tell you to quit bothering me? You do realize that I'm an Auror and can legally have you fined or even thrown into Azkaban for breaking and entering.'

Rita glowered at him. She'd eventually gone back to work for the Daily Prophet, boldly calling Hermione's bluff. Hermione had calmly not leaked information about her illegal Animagus status, sending Rita a letter instead that told her implicitly that if she were to ever write libelous or slanderous things about Harry or any of his friends again, she would be immediately thrown in jail for breaking the law and not registering herself as an Animagus.

'You wouldn't do that Harry, would you?' she asked in a simpering voice. Harry wasn't impressed, neither was Ginny for that matter.

'You stupid cow!' she exclaimed dangerously. She had lowered her voice so as not to alert any of the guests of their uninvited friend. 'You really ought to have thought this out more.'

Harry grinned. 'You know, I could just go and tell Kingsley right now, Gin. That would clear everything up straight away.'

Rita blanched under her heavy make-up. Harry had succeeded in scaring her. 'Oh, Harry, you don't have to go and do a terrible thing like that do you? We can work this out. How about I just leave now and we never have to mention this again.' She was speaking very quickly and with a very clear note of desperation in her voice.

'No, I have to do something to discourage you from doing this ever again, Rita. What do you think Ginny?' Harry asked with a mischievously evil grin.

Ginny made a real show of thinking, keeping her wand trained on Rita while she twirled the other witch's wand in her free hand. Then she smiled widely, she'd thought of something. 'I know, Harry. Why don't we just frog march her out through the garden and keep all of her favorite quills?'

Harry grinned, knowing exactly what Ginny meant to do. Later, he'd tell Hermione and the Minister that they didn't have to do anything to Rita, but for now it would seem like the two people she feared most at the moment would have eyes on her before she was thrown out. 'I like the sound of that idea, Gin. Hand over your bag, Rita.'

Rita clutched the bag to her chest in a feeble attempt to keep it from Harry, but Harry had a wand and she didn't. He performed a simple Summoning Charm and the bag was in his hands before she could blink. He reached in and removed ever one of her quills and a piece of parchment that had the title of her next story, 'Harry Potter Becomes and "Auror".' Harry grimaced at the title, not liking how Auror was in quotes, and set all the items on the floor, thoroughly smashing them with his foot before pointing his wand at the piles and muttering, 'Evanesco.'

Rita groaned weakly and sank to the floor. Harry tossed her bag at her and then turned his wand back on her. 'Come on, Rita, up you get.'

She stood slowly and shakily, rifling through her bag, vainly hoping that Harry had accidentally missed something, but her incriminating article was gone as were all of her favorite quills. She looked livid, but there was nothing she could do about it. Harry motioned for her to walk out first, keeping his wand trained on her as Ginny went to close the window she'd climbed in through and cleaning the muddy footprints from the floor. It wasn't that Mrs Weasley would have been particularly angry about the mud stains, but it was courteous, none-the-less, to clean it up. Harry waited for her and resumed walking only when Ginny was back at his side, her wand likewise pointed at Rita's back.

'What in the name of Merlin is she doing here?' Ron yelped when he saw Rita enter the room. Only two other people had arrived since Harry and Ginny had confronted Rita, but it looked like everyone was in the kitchen exchanging pleasantries, though now they were all staring at Rita, Harry, and Ginny.

'Nothing to see here, all, just an uninvited guest being escorted off of the premises. Come along, Rita, let's get you out of here,' Ginny said with a grin akin to a cat catching a canary. They marched Rita through the throng of people, which now included Neville and his girlfriend Hannah Abbott, and down the garden path past the fence and to the point where Apparition was possible again. Ginny tossed Rita her wand and glared at her. 'Do not ever come here again, Skeeter. If you do, we'll be sure to let every newspaper in the world know about your little secret, not just the Daily Prophet.'

Rita wasted no time in replying, she simply picked up her wand and Disapparated, her face red and angry looking. Harry grinned and walked arm in arm with Ginny back up the garden path to greet the party guests.

'What the bloody hell was that all about?' Ron asked in an undertone so no one else nearby could hear what they were saying. Hermione was right next to him, listening closely with a furious look on her face.

'Well, we caught Rita sneaking into the house, she must have found a way to disable the Security Charms I placed on the window, otherwise everyone would have been aware that she was in the house,' Harry said in a likewise sotto voice.

Hermione didn't like the sound of this. 'I should just tell the Prophet all about her, that would teach her a lesson she'd never forget.'

'Nah, I think we embarrassed her enough tonight,' Ginny replied. 'We told her if she ever tried anything so stupid again, though, and we'd leak the information to every magical newspaper in the world. She'd never find another job in her field.'

Ron looked taken aback. 'I didn't know you were so…devious, Gin. Remind me to stay on your good side, alright?'

They all laughed and Harry started making the rounds to say hello to all the guests that had arrived so far. Slughorn was now chatting merrily away to an always dreamy looking Luna Lovegood while Percy Weasley, a new arrival as well, was deep in conversation with Kingsley. Harry thought this slightly foolish as Percy was still Junior Undersecretary to the Minister, but Percy was allowed to do as he wanted. As he walked over to greet Percy, Harry saw Charlie Weasley drop in, so he changed course, happy not to talk to Percy just yet. Though they were friendly, Percy was still a stuffed shirt and talked too much about Ministry policy for Harry's liking; he much preferred talking to the second-eldest Weasley brother.

'Charlie!' Harry said happily as he held his hand out. He'd crossed the room without much needing to stop. Everybody was either helping to carry or place the finishing touches on the massive amounts of food or exchanging pleasantries with the other guests in attendance.

'How are ya, Harry?' Charlie asked, smiling brightly. Charlie looked more tired than Ginny, though he also had more reason to be tired. Most in his field either didn't last long or earned their wrinkles and gray hair early on.

'I'm good, Charlie, very good. How about yourself? Any escaped dragons I should be warning the country folk about?' Harry jested. It was something of a standing joke in the Weasley household because on the day Charlie started work at the Wales Dragon Preserve, a very young Common Welsh Green had escaped. Charlie had initially been blamed, as he was the new guy, but it was actually found to be an activist for an extremist group that advocated the release of all dragons into the into the wild. The young dragon was captured after a few hours, though the one who freed it was a little bit more difficult to find. If it hadn't been for Harry, Neville, and a very harassed Emelina Banks, the witch would have set even more dragons free.

Charlie scowled and rolled his eyes. 'Oh ha ha, Harry, you're so funny I'm going to drop dead right here from the pure hilarity of that joke,' he said in a deadpan voice. 'I'm doing just fine as of late. I started seeing a girl from work a few weeks ago, actually. She's very sweet and quite the laugh. I was going to bring her with me, but she had to go to dinner with her parents and I did not want to experience that horror yet. I don't know how you do it, living with the parents of your girlfriend. It would be murder for me mate.'

Harry laughed. 'It helps that your mum is like a mother to me and has been since the day I met her. I don't think I've ever met someone so kind.' And Harry meant it. Mrs Weasley hadn't been the first or the only one to offer to put Harry up after the war ended, but she was the one that Harry knew he could trust and the one he respected the most.

Unbeknownst to Harry, however, Mrs Weasley was right behind him when he'd said this. She sniffed loudly and threw her arms around Harry, burying her face in his shirt. 'Thank you so much, Harry. You don't know what that means to me,' she said. Everyone was staring at them and Harry felt slightly awkward hugging her as well and patting her back.

Thankfully, her husband was quick enough to see Harry was slightly uncomfortable with the situation he'd found himself in. Mr Weasley rushed forward and softly pried his wife off of Harry and pulled her away to the living room. It was quiet for a very long moment, no one knowing quite what to say.

'Oy!' shouted George in a clear effort to defuse the awkward situation. 'What's everyone standing around for? There's food on the table that isn't outside! Move it you lazy sods or I'll start hexing!'

Everyone laughed and started grabbing dishes just as the two more guests arrived, Neville and his girlfriend Hannah Abbott. They quickly jumped to one side of the kitchen door as everyone was now exiting through it, Harry waving at them as he walked by carrying a large platter of rice pudding. As soon as he'd dropped that off, he went back inside to greet them. He shook Neville's hand and hugged Hannah, Mrs Weasley clumsily patting him on the back as she walked by carrying a tray of treacle tart.

'Good you could make it Neville, Hannah,' Harry said as the food gradually made its way outside. 'We'll be eating out back tonight if you'd like to grab a dish and follow the procession.' Harry smiled again and made his own way back to the dining room table that, if it were a living thing, would have been groaning in relief from the amount of food that was being taken off of it.

Just as the last of the food was moved outside, Andromeda appeared. She looked very nice in peacock blue dress robes and matching heels. Harry was just about to hoist little Teddy into his highchair, but he acquiesced this to Andromeda happily. It was difficult to get him to do anything he didn't want to.

'Thanks, Drom,' Harry said with a smile. Everyone was chatting away and just taking their seats while they waited for Harry to maybe give a speech or someone to on his behalf, and for the drink to be dispensed so they could toast him, of course. 'I have to dash inside and grab the champagne, I'll be quick.'

Harry ran back inside, grabbing Ron on his way. When they were safely in the kitchen and looking for where Mrs Weasley usually hid the spirits, Harry let out a sigh of exasperation. 'What the bloody hell am I supposed to say, Ron? I know I've given speeches before, but there are twenty-two people out there, twenty-three counting you. All of them are people I know, this time! Last time I gave a speech, I was making it to the press about that mad witch in Diagon Alley, but these are all friends!'

Ron laughed. 'Calm down, Harry. Just thank them all for coming and tell them to enjoy the free grub, it's how I would I do it.'

Harry was astonished. Ron wasn't normally the type of person who would know how to handle a difficult situation, but this was a good tip. 'Thanks Ron, I'll do that. I knew there was a reason I kept you around,' Harry said with a grin.

'Oh shove off,' Ron replied, tossing Harry a bottle of champagne. Harry caught it deftly with the unerring accuracy of a trained Seeker before turning, a bottle in each hand, and heading out to the back yard again.

'All right!' Harry shouted over the considerable noise of many talking at once. 'I've got the bubbly, pass it along and fill the champagne glass in front of you so we can all toast and get on with this dinner!'

The assembled partygoers laughed as he filled Ginny and his glasses before sending it on down the table, right past Teddy because at only one year old, it was foolish to let him have any. Andromeda splashed some into her glass, followed by Molly, Arthur, and Bill. Fleur conspicuously chose not to have any and passed the bottle to Luna who poured some into her glass and kept it moving. Kingsley took it next and passed it to McGonagall and it ran out after it reached Slughorn at the opposite end of the table from Hagrid.

'It seems we've run out of champagne, Harry m'boy!' he called down the line and chuckled. Harry grabbed the second bottle and gave it to Hagrid before retaking his seat.

Hagrid poured himself a small measure and passed it to Ron. Hermione, then Neville, Hannah, Oliver, Alicia, Katie, Angelina, George, Percy, and Charlie all poured some before the bottle ran out once again, though it wasn't a problem as now everyone except for Ted and Fleur had champagne in front of them. Bill had filled her flute with water from his wand just as Harry stood.

'Speech!' cried George raucously to general laughter and applause. He started up a chant of 'Speech, speech, speech,' while banging his fork and knife on the table. This was taken up by everyone in attendance, though Ted was just banging his small fork and spoon because he saw everyone else doing it.

'Okay, okay!' Harry called, but he could not be heard over the continued chanting of 'Speech, speech, speech.' His throat grew slightly soar after several minutes of trying to be heard over the din and had to resort to magically amplifying his voice before everyone would quiet down. 'Shut up!' he yelled. There were a few titters, but everyone quieted down, even Teddy who was staring up at his godfather in what appeared to be avid attention.

'Thank you, George, for that fabulous display. I'm sure we all wanted a delay in eating this fabulously prepared feast,' Harry said loudly after he'd muttered the counter-spell to his Amplification Charm. There were several loud boos from the people nearest George, though Ron at the opposite end of the table booed the loudest. 'Anyway, I'd like to thank you all for coming tonight to celebrate my becoming an Auror. I don't really think I deserved a party for the occasion, but what do I know?' There were laughs all around the table and Ginny poked him in the leg sharply. 'I hope you all enjoy the free meal you're getting tonight, it must have been difficult to do with only a few helpers and not a lot of time. Thanks go to Mrs W- I mean Molly.' A polite round of applause went up along both sides of the table and Mrs Weasley blushed scarlet, waving her hand as she nodded and smiled. 'I'm sure you can all show your appreciation by helping clear and clean the dishes!' Harry yelled to general groans and shouts of dismay. 'On other business, I'm not the only one with reason to celebrate tonight. On account of the large amount of people with news, we'll just all toast together so everyone doesn't get so drunk they can't Apparate home.' A few more laughs circled the table. 'Ron? Would you like to tell everyone your news?' Harry asked, not bothering to wait for him to answer before promptly sitting down. Ron glared at him and stood up.

'Thanks Harry, I think,' Ron said as George whistled loudly, causing a few to laugh. 'Shut it, you. Before I get on to my news, I'd like to congratulate Harry on becoming a full-fledged Auror. Have fun with the paperwork mate!' Everyone clapped and laughed at this remark. 'Now for my news,' he said when the applause died away. 'My brother, George, announced today that he has made me a full partner in our family joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes!' Again, everyone clapped, though this time it was for Ron, who bypassed scarlet and turned crimson at the attention he was receiving. When the applause and catcalls (from George of course) had died away yet again, Ron continued. 'It's a great honor to be seen as an equal in George's eyes, especially since throughout most of my career at Hogwarts, he and Fred tried to deny I was related to them. I hope Fred was watching today at the press conference, he would have appreciated seeing Rita bashed over the head with a crystal tumbler.' A few laughed at this, but most just let it sink in, there was nothing to really say to that, though Ron captured their collective sentiments quite well. 'I know we all miss dear Fred, but we should always remember and appreciate his ability to find humour in any situation and let that live on at least partially through we who remember him.' Ron paused for a moment, then shook his head and smiled brightly again. 'Now I think Bill and Fleur have some news they'd like to share.' Ron sat promptly and hastily wiped a tear from his cheek while Hermione kissed the opposite one and grasped his hand.

Bill stood next, smiling at Fleur who still held his hand. 'Well, I'm not really one for speeches myself, so I'll just come right out and say it,' he said, looking like he was bursting to tell everyone their news. 'We're pregnant!' he shouted.

Mrs Weasley broke out in tears of joy and nearly toppled her chair as she stood and rushed over to Bill and Fleur, wrapping them both in a big hug and sobbing on Fleur's shoulder. Everyone cheered and several stood to shake Bill's hand or give Fleur a hug when Molly finally released her. When everyone calmed down and regained their seats, Mrs Weasley rather reluctantly, Bill stood again.

'We're only about a week along, but we've been trying for quite a while,' Bill said, still smiling like the proud papa he was soon to be, a smile echoed on the face of everyone present. 'We'll find out more later, but we wanted to tell everyone tonight. It seemed like a good time.'

Everyone clapped as Bill sat back down. Harry prodded Ginny, trying to get her to stand and give her news next. She sighed and stood, everyone in the yard immediately focusing on her now. Ginny cleared her throat and smiled at them.

'Well, following Bill, my news really isn't that spectacular,' she said, looking slightly nervous. 'I would ask you, Oliver, to cover your ears, but as you probably already know, I'm playing starting Chaser in tomorrow's Holyhead Harpies versus Puddlemere United game.' Everyone set to clapping again, even Oliver Wood, though Alicia had to poke him to do so. He didn't look very cheerful about the news. Ginny took her seat again and Harry gave her a kiss on the cheek before he stood again.

'We have one last piece of news before we set about eating the food. It's a good thing it's at least somewhat warm out tonight, since otherwise the food would be getting cold,' Harry said. The crowd chuckled and giggled at this remark. 'Hagrid? I know you don't want to announce your news, but could you please stand, at least?' Hagrid scowled at Harry as he stood up, careful not to bump the table with his knees. 'Professor Hagrid here told me earlier this evening, just before dinner in fact, that he's been promoted. You are all now looking at the Head of Gryffindor House!' The table exploded in cheers again, for, with the exception of Fleur (who had attended Beauxbatons Academy of Magic), Hannah (who had been in Hufflepuff House), Luna and Kingsley (who were both alumni of Ravenclaw), Andromeda (who had been in Slytherin), Teddy (who was not old enough to be sorted) and Slughorn (who was not only Head of Slytherin House, but had been in it in school), the table was comprised of previous Gryffindor students. 'I would also like to congratulate Neville on becoming a full Auror as well, even though his test will be sometime next week. We all know he'll pass as well,' Harry said when Hagrid had sat back down, the visible portion of his face flushed beet red and the cheering had died down, though it started up immediately when Harry congratulated Neville. Neville stood in turn and smiled at everyone, though he glared daggers at Harry in jest.

'Can we drink now?' George called. 'I think we've all had enough news for one evening, plus I'm starving.' All of the partygoers laughed at this.

When Harry had finished laughing, he lifted his glass, the rest mimicking him. 'I propose a toast to Bill and Fleur, Ron, Neville, Hagrid, Ginny, and myself,' he called.

Everyone, excluding Teddy, of course, raised their glasses and sipped the champagne.

'All right, tuck in!' Harry called and sat down, his throat soar from all the speaking he'd done that evening. Ginny kissed him as everyone started serving themselves.

'That was a very good speech, Harry,' she said with a smile. 'I never really pegged you as a public speaker.'

Harry smiled back. 'Neither did I, but I guess we can all do something out of the ordinary sometimes.'

They smiled at each other and started dishing food onto their plates, Harry turning to help Andromeda feed Teddy. After Andromeda continually urged Harry to enjoy his party, Harry finally turned and began to eat. He was famished, though it shouldn't have come as a surprise since he hadn't eaten since a very light and brief lunch of a stale ham and cheese sandwich pilfered from a rogue witch's kitchen in Cornwall. He ate until he could not eat anymore, leaning back in his chair and groaning. He looked down the table, discovering most had finished eating as well. Ted looked sleepy and Harry stood, picking him up.

'Come on big guy,' he said, going back to the house. 'We'll lay ya down for a bit before Nanna takes you home.' He went to the living room and quickly changed Teddy's diaper before he summoned the spare crib they kept in the house from his bedroom closet. He laid the baby down and tucked him in, kissing his forehead before blowing out the lamp and walking back outside.

'I do have one last announcement,' he said as he took his place between Ginny and Ted's empty highchair. 'Next week is, as you know, my nineteenth birthday. If it's agreeable, we can count today as the formal celebration and you can stop by throughout the day to drop off any gifts you might want to give me. I know I can't stop you from doing so,' he said, which earned him several half-hearted boos, 'I won't ask,' he finished. 'Does that work for you lot?'

'Yes,' was the general answer, though most were varieties on the word or, in many cases, simply grunts in the affirmative.

'That works for me,' Harry said happily. 'Now let's all get up and help clear the table. You ate it and now you get to clean it, it'll do you good.' There was a groan from everyone present and a few threw their napkins at Harry, Ginny included. Harry laughed and picked up his plate and silverware and carried them to the kitchen.

Roughly half an hour later, the assembled partygoers had piled all of the empty dishes in the sink or on the counter, a small army of charmed sponges cleaning and soaking them in the sink while a towel waited to dry them, occasionally wringing itself out over the empty side of the sink. After the dishes were all collected and the leftover food had been either thrown away or packed away for later and stored in the icebox, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione went back outside to vanish the candles and clean up the backyard. Harry and Hermione had to think hard on how to best get rid of the chair they'd constructed for Hagrid, in the end they had to repeatedly cast 'Finite Incantatem.' After about ten minutes, the chair was once again a regular size and the ground beneath it regular grass and soil.

They retired to the living room after that, Harry and the others seeing their friends off until Molly, Arthur, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione were the only ones left in the house. Andromeda had taken Ted home with her and all of the others had left.

'I'm exhausted!' Harry exclaimed, flopping down onto the floor in front of one of the couches, Ginny resting her legs on his shoulders.

There was a collective groan of consent from those who remained.

Molly yawned. 'We're going to head to bed,' she said, standing with her husband. 'Hermione, you know you're always welcome to stay over with Ginny. We'll see you kids in the morning.' She went around and gave them each a hug and a kiss on the cheek. 'Good night!'

'Good night,' they chorused. Molly and Arthur went upstairs and they weren't far behind.

Harry stood, the rest of them rising as well. 'See you lot in the morning then,' he said. They all nodded and smiled at each other.

Harry walked Ginny to her door and kissed her tiredly. 'I love you, Ginny,' he said softly and kissed her nose. 'Sleep well, sweet dreams.'

She smiled and kissed him again. 'I love you too, Harry. Sweet dreams.'

They kissed one more time and Harry left for his room, nearly running into a wall. He quickly cleaned his teeth and quickly removed all but his boxers before falling onto his bed and almost immediately falling asleep, noticing belatedly that there was a letter on the floor below his window when he took off his glasses.

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A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that. Please review!! I'll try to have the next chapter up soon.


	4. The Hall of Remembrance

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (or any of its subsidiaries) nor do I claim to.

A/N: There's not much to say about this next installment, although expect a few surprises. Enjoy and please review!

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The next day, Harry was awoken by the feeling of the covers being drawn over him and another person crawling into bed with him. He smiled, not even fully awake, as he detected in the air one of his favourite smells, a flowery scent that he associated with the love of his life, Ginny. He didn't open his eyes, just slid his arm over her shoulder and through her silky red hair, pulling her closer so he could kiss her. Ginny laughed quietly, so close to Harry's face he could feel her breathing on his face. They kissed softly and for a long moment before they broke apart, Harry's eyes opening and his mouth spreading into a wide smile.

'You know, I think I could be woken up like that every morning for the rest of my life and always wake up a happy man,' he whispered, staring directly into Ginny's eyes. They twined their fingers together and kissed again.

'I wouldn't mind waking you up _sometimes_, Harry,' Ginny replied, squeezing his hand, 'but every day? I don't think so.' They shared a laugh and Harry yawned, stretching out on the queen-sized mattress.

Harry kissed her nose. 'So, either your parents have gone shopping for groceries, or your dad whisked your mum away on some amazingly romantic vacation. Otherwise, you wouldn't be in here at this hour.'

Ginny laughed, poking him in the ribs. 'Neither, actually. Sorry to disappoint you. They went to that Ministry function. Apparently Percy told them last night that there was an emergency change in the time, so instead of two weeks from now, it's now. Mum and dad said to tell you goodbye and that you're in charge.'

If it weren't impossible, Harry's eyes would have popped out of his skull at that last comment. 'They said what?' he asked, thinking he must not have heard her right.

Ginny grinned. 'They reckon Ron is too immature to be left in charge of the house and I'm too young. The obvious choice was you.'

Harry laughed hoarsely. 'This is very…surreal,' he said, pinching himself on the leg to make sure he wasn't still sleeping. 'Okay, not the smartest thing to do.'

Ginny giggled a bit. 'Want me to kiss it and-'

'Gin, if you finish that sentence, I won't get out of bed at all today,' Harry said, interrupting her, though he wore a roguish grin. He kissed her softly and smiled once more. 'We'll have much more time and opportunity to finish that later, you know. Right now I have an urgent meeting with the loo that I probably shouldn't miss. I'll be back in a moment, don't go anywhere.' He grinned at her and slid out of the bed, dashing across the hall to the bathroom and doing his morning business. When he returned, Ginny was picking the return letter from Malfoy up from the floor.

'What's this Harry? It looks like an owl dropped it through the crack at the bottom of the window,' she said, looking at him curiously.

'That's why we have to wait until later to finish our earlier conversation, Gin,' he said, walking over to his writing desk and picking up the original letter from Draco. 'Give this a read while I read his return.' They traded letters and sat next to each other on the bed. Harry was slightly distracted; Ginny was in a very brief robe with what looked like little under that. He shook his head to clear it and set about opening and reading Malfoy's return letter. It only had six words and a time written on it:

_Potter-_

_Thanks. Hall of Remembrance, 10:30am today._

_Draco_

Harry nodded and slid it back into the envelope, waiting for Ginny to finish Draco's first letter. As he did, he ruminated on the place Draco had chosen to meet. The Hall of Remembrance was a new addition to the Ministry, a sort of museum dedicated to everyone who fought in the First and Second Wizarding Wars against Voldemort. It was the closest to street level that the Ministry got, right above Level One which housed the Minister of Magic's office and those of his support staff. There were portraits of all who had died in the wars in the Hall and a statue of, embarrassingly, Harry, Ron, and Hermione with all of the names of the brave people who had fought with them. It not only listed the names of those who had died, but those who had lived as well. Harry had to fight tooth and nail to get Severus Snape's name added to that list, but considering he was the Man Who Won, it didn't take long for Kingsley to acquiesce. After Ginny finished, she wordlessly picked up the response and looked at Harry when she was finished with that letter as well.

'And you're sure about this? Helping Draco Malfoy after all he did to you?' Ginny asked soberly. She'd calmed down from earlier and was totally serious now.

Harry nodded, looking her directly in the eye. 'It's my duty as an Auror and you know I can't turn my back on someone that asks for my help, it's just who I am.'

Ginny nodded. 'Somehow, I knew you were going to say that,' she said and kissed him. 'I know he said only to bring Ron and Hermione, at least that's what I assumed from "Weasley and Granger," but I'm going with you.'

'Gin, I don't-'

She cut him off with a dangerous look. 'I'm coming with you, Harry. Don't try to argue, you know I'll win.' She kissed him again and quickly left the room, leaving the letters on his bed. Harry sighed and grabbed his bath things; it would be pointless to say anything to the contrary because, after all, she was correct. Harry never won an argument against Ginevra Molly Weasley, not that he really tried that hard.

He crossed the hall again and quickly showered, glancing at the clock on the way and seeing they only had about one hour before they had to meet up with Draco. When he exited the shower, he looked in the slightly foggy mirror and noticed the stubble on his face. He had once tried to grow a goatee, but Ron and George had laughed so heartily at this, he'd decided against it until he was a bit older. He picked up the razor he'd been given as a seventeenth birthday present; telling it clearly that he wanted a very clean, smooth shave. After he was done, his face clean of hair once more, Harry put on the robes he wore when he wasn't going to work, a nice set of bottle green ones that weren't too fancy, but weren't shabby either. Ginny wasn't in his room when he entered it again, though he assumed that she was getting dressed as well. He went up to the top of the house and knocked on Ron's door when he finished, straightening the collar of his robes as he went. No one answered, but the door wasn't unlocked. He opened it quietly and poked his head inside with his eyes closed.

'Okay, I know you and Hermione are in there. If you like, I'll stay outside until you come out, but I do need to talk to you quickly.' He pulled his head out and leaned against the wall next to Ron's door. He'd made the mistake of just walking in once and found Ron and Hermione horizontally snogging and groping like the world were about to end. He didn't want to repeat that experience if he lived another hundred years.

A few moments later, Ron opened the door a crack and stuck his head out. He looked somewhat disgruntled, his hair was mussed and his face was flushed. 'We'll be downstairs in about five minutes.' He closed the door a little harder than necessary and Harry grinned. They were entitled to their comforts just as he and Ginny were.

When he entered the kitchen, after getting the letters and his wand from his room, he found Ginny waiting for him with a steaming mug of hot tea. He smiled and kissed her cheek, accepting the mug. She must have showered while Harry was, because her hair was damp and her face looked like it was freshly scrubbed. She was wearing a spare pair of robes as well, though hers were a dark blue in colour. They sat next to each other at the kitchen table and grasped hands.

'Will we have enough time to meet with Draco and get you to the game?' Harry asked. 'If I know Gwenog, and I do, she'll want to practice before the game.'

'It'll be fine,' Ginny replied. 'Don't worry. Drink your tea before it gets cold.'

Harry took a sip of tea with a sheepish smile, finding it made just the way he liked it, and then leaned over to kiss Ginny again. He took a deep whiff of her skin and was flooded by her flowery scent that he found intoxicating.

'Is this why you dragged us down here at an ungodly hour?' Ron asked from the bottom of the staircase. 'To see you and my sister acting all lovey-dovey? He was dressed in a pair of pajamas that looked too short around the ankle and a bit too long around the wrists. Harry laughed to himself when he also noticed the buttons were not done up properly as several inches of material extended on one side; it appeared that he'd had to dress in a hurry. As had Hermione for that matter, her usually bushy hair was a snarled mess around her head and her own dressing gown seemed to be experiencing the same problem Ron's was.

Harry laughed. 'No, that is not why I called you down here. Have a seat; otherwise you might fall down out of shock.' This last he said in a deadly serious voice. They looked at each other and shrugged before sitting down across from Harry and Ginny. Harry sighed and slid the letters across the table to them, deciding to let them do the explaining instead of Harry doing so. 'I received these last night during the party.'

Hermione grabbed the first and quickly read it through, her eyes widening all the time. She handed it off to Ron and read the second, looking up at Harry when she finished. She didn't say anything until Ron finished both. He, too, looked up at Harry with wide eyes.

'This has to be a joke, mate,' Ron said hoarsely. He obviously chose to disbelieve the letter in its entirety. 'Right, Hermione?' He turned to her with a pleading look.

Hermione looked right back at him and shook her head. Harry could not gauge the look on her face, but it said something to Ron and he slumped in his chair, looking very lost and confused. 'I think you're right to help him, Harry. If you want us to go, we'll go with you. I doubt he'll be coming alone and if this is a trap, you'll need the backup.'

Harry let out a sigh of relief. 'Thanks Hermione. What about you, Ron?' he asked hesitantly. He knew Ron hated Draco nearly as much as Harry did and wouldn't miss an opportunity to hex him halfway to hell.

Ron looked up, his eyes returning to a normal state. 'I'll go. If he tries anything I want to be the first to curse him, though. I've been waiting to for a long time.'

Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all laughed at his response, though it wasn't unexpected. 'Okay,' Harry said, rubbing his hands together. 'You two go get showered and dressed, we'll Floo there in about fifteen minutes. We have to meet up with him in about half an hour, so mind you use separate showers. Otherwise we'll never leave.'

Ron flushed scarlet and Hermione nearly matched him, both of them shooting him filthy looks as they left the table without another word. Ginny poked Harry in the ribs when they were gone.

'That wasn't something that even crossed my mind this morning,' she said with a wicked grin. 'Showering together I mean. We are alone this weekend.'

Harry grinned back. 'We'll have plenty of time for that later, Gin. Trust me, there will be a later. I'd really like to finish our "conversation" from earlier.'

Ginny laughed and kissed him and they stayed locked together in that way until they heard Ron and Hermione descending the stairs a quarter of an hour later. They broke apart unwillingly and comported themselves so Ron wouldn't have anything to gripe about. When Ron and Hermione entered, Harry and Ginny saw that they were dressed similar to themselves. Ron was wearing maroon robes and Hermione was wearing black.

'Are we ready to go, then?' Ron asked. He still looked slightly irritated that he and Hermione could not stay abed all day and Harry didn't blame him. He would have much preferred to stay in his room with Ginny all day. Andromeda had Ted all weekend unless Harry wanted to visit, so he and Ginny could have had the day to themselves, just as Ron and Hermione could have.

'Yeah, I'm ready if you lot are,' Harry said, standing and going to the fireplace, Ginny in tow. The others rose and joined Harry and Ginny in a line to the fireplace. 'I just want to say one thing, don't automatically curse, hex, or jinx him, all right? We're there on friendly terms today. Though if you see someone else draw a wand, have yours ready.'

They nodded to each other and Harry dropped Ginny's hand in favor of grabbing some Floo powder out of the pot by the fireplace. He stepped into the hearth and threw it down, shouting, 'Ministry of Magic!' At once the Burrow was whipped away and he saw several other rooms flash by before he was deposited neatly at the Ministry. He quickly stepped out, knowing that only one fireplace in the Atrium operated during the weekends. The Ministry was deserted. There were no people milling about, not even the cleaning staff; not even memos were to be seen zooming hither and yon. Harry smiled in the silence; the Ministry could be a peaceful place.

A few seconds after Harry arrived, Ginny appeared in the same grate, coughing on some soot. Harry pulled her out and gently patted her back, trying to help her dislodge the ash as Ron spun into view in the fireplace.

'I hate it when that happens,' Harry said sympathetically to Ginny.

'So do I,' she replied. 'I didn't close my mouth fast enough and I inhaled some soot. It was a stupid mistake.' She looked quite embarrassed by it.

'Nothing to worry about, I did that on my way to work day before yesterday,' Harry said as he looked up and saw Hermione arrive. He dropped his voice to a whisper, 'And you know Ron does it all the time.'

Ginny laughed and cheered up at this. It was true that Ron inhaled a lot of ash and soot when he Flooed. Ron looked at them skeptically for a moment before he shrugged, dismissing whatever it was they were laughing at as none of his business. They all brushed off their robes, Harry having quite a bit of fun helping Ginny with hers as there was a large streak of soot on her backside. She swatted his hand playfully and whispered, 'Later.'

Harry laughed and looked over at Ron and Hermione who were also dusting each other off. 'Okay, let's go if we're all sufficiently soot-free and ready.' The others nodded and walked in pairs to the gold lifts. They found several waiting in the Atrium and all got in one, riding it up to the top level.

'Hall of Remembrance,' the voice of the lift said simply, the doors opening onto the Hall. They all stepped out and heard the doors close behind them, though it did not descend. They couldn't see anyone inside the hall, though the marble statue of Harry, Ron, and Hermione was directly in front of them and Draco could be on the other side. He could also be in the room to their left, the Artifacts Room. In there was housed the remains of all of Voldemort's Horcruxes that were found, with the exception of Nagini and Harry of course. It also housed many items that were used during the wars, like the radio that the program _Potterwatch_ used for its broadcasts and the fake locket that Regulus Black had left in the Horcrux Cave.

Draco might also be in the room to the left, the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's Army Memorial room. In there were plaques listing those that were in both organizations, anyone who wished not to have their name listed was, of course, left off. Some liked to lead a quiet life, it was understandable. Also in there was a portrait of Twelve, Grimmauld Place, the headquarters for the Order. Harry had commissioned it be painted after the war ended specifically for this room so everyone would know what it stood for. Among the items on display, there was one of the contact Galleons that had been used to alert D.A. of meetings and, on one memorable occasion, had alerted Luna and Neville (the only two members of Dumbledore's Army that had still kept watch of their Galleons) that they were needed for the Battle of the Astronomy Tower. There was even one of the Death Eater dummies that the D.A. had used to practice their spells on in one corner, the initials of each member carved into it. Even those who had died before the Hall was created had their initials carved in, like Colin Creevey. His brother, Dennis, had carved his in since Colin could not.

Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione decided to stick together, peering through the archways into those rooms as they passed them. The room at the end of the Hall, the Portrait Room which held a portrait of each casualty of the wars, was dark as of yet so it was not likely Draco was in there. The only other room he could be in was the Tribute Room, where one could light candles in memory of those who had been slain. They did not have to check this room out, however, as they heard footsteps to their right once they reached the statue. They turned and saw Draco striding towards them from the plaque that was adjacent to the Order/D.A. Memorial room. That plaque, as Harry well knew, was the only thing in the room that contained the names of the Death Eaters that had died or were currently imprisoned. Draco and his parents' names did not appear on that list since they'd changed sides just before the end of the war.

Draco hadn't changed much. His pale blonde hair was neat and orderly as it always was, his black robes were immaculate and his black shoes shiny. The only real difference was in his face and his eyes. Gone was the look of contempt he used to have for any who he deemed inferior to himself. He looked older than his nineteen years, like the events of the war had aged him considerably. When he was close enough to extend his hand to them, he stopped and did so. Harry hesitantly took a step forward and shook it, finding it quite cold.

'Thank you for meeting me here, Potter, Weasley, Granger. Though I did specify those were the only ones I wanted to know about this,' he said, not sneering, but looking slightly uneasy instead.

Ginny cocked an eyebrow. 'Deal with it, Malfoy. I wanted to be here with Harry and so I am. It's not like he wouldn't have told me after anyways.'

Draco nodded stiffly. 'All right, that's fine. I don't want to waste any time, so let's get down to it.' He pulled his wand, the others echoing his movement and pulling out their own. 'Relax, I'm just going to conjure a chair.' And he did, a black leather armchair appearing right on the floor in front of the statue.

The others relaxed their stances slightly, conjuring chairs of their own so they could sit as well. Said chairs all conformed to each individuals personality, just like the chairs conjured by Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall had. Harry sat in a high-backed black leather executive chair; Ginny conjured an overstuffed red recliner; Ron's was a maroon leather armchair; and Hermione had a wooden chair with a padded seat and arm rests, the like of which could be found in most libraries. After they all made themselves comfortable, Harry motioned for Malfoy to speak.

Draco cleared his throat and closed his eyes as he began to speak. It was obviously difficult for him. 'Two nights ago, my father went out to have a drink with someone. He said he'd received a letter and had to go meet whoever it was, he wouldn't tell mother or I who it was. The only thing we do know is he went to the Hog's Head and he hasn't been back since.' He opened his eyes and looked at each of them in turn. 'Before you ask, I know my father did not run out. If there is anything that he is, it is a faithful man. He did not leave my mother and me.'

Harry considered this for a few moments. It was true that it was highly unlikely that Lucius Malfoy would leave his family. Lucius had only been and stayed a Death Eater, in the end, because Voldemort had threatened his family with death if he did not. If it had not been that, if it had not been for his want to keep Draco and Narcissa safe, he would have left the employ of his Dark Lord much sooner. No matter how much Harry hated him, he could not begrudge Lucius for that. If there are extreme circumstances, one would do anything to protect their family unless they had no soul. Harry sighed heavily; Lucius was in trouble and it was Harry's duty as an Auror to help him.

'Where do you suggest we start, Draco?' Harry asked. He pulled out his wand and conjured a notepad and quill. He had forgotten his own set at home; he always carried them with him on a work day.

Draco visibly relaxed; he was relieved. 'Thank you, Potter. I think we should-'

'Wait, Harry,' Hermione said. For one surprise-filled moment, Harry thought that Hermione was about to advise him against helping Draco and Lucius, but that was not her intent. She leaned forward and snatched both notepad and quill from Harry's lap. 'We all know how terrible a note-taker you are.'

Ginny covered her mouth to stifle a giggle while Ron sat up a little straighter in his chair. Harry scowled at Hermione, but nodded at her after a moment. She was right after all; she was always good at taking notes in school.

Draco looked at them all snidely. 'If you're finished?' he asked with a slight sneer. 'I think we should start at the Hog's Head and see if there are any people there that saw him the other night.'

Harry nodded and was about to suggest that they set out at once for Hogsmeade when Ron spoke up. 'Round what time did your dad go to the pub?'

Harry looked around incredulously, seeing his expression mirrored on Hermione and Ginny's faces. Harry was mentally cursing himself, why hadn't he asked that? He was the Auror, the trained investigator. That was the type of question Harry was supposed to ask.

'What?' Ron asked as he saw the looks he was getting not only from Harry, Hermione, and Ginny, but from Draco as well. 'It just seemed like the right thing to ask. The shops all close around a certain time and the only two places that stay open past then are the Three Broomsticks and the Hog's Head. If Mr Malfoy had disappeared before the other shops closed, we need to check with those shop owners as well as with Aberforth.'

Draco shook himself, obviously trying to dispel the idea of Ron thinking of something he had not. 'Father left around five o'clock.'

Harry nodded once again and stood, vanishing his chair. The others stood up as well and likewise got rid of their chairs. 'How should we pair up?' he asked the group.

'Hermione and I'll check with Verity at the Hogsmeade branch of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and then head over to Honeydukes,' Ron said. December of the year previous, George and Lee Jordan (his best mate from school and his new business partner after Fred had died) had set up shop in the location vacated by Zonko's Joke Shop. Verity had been put in charge of that branch, a task which she flourished at.

'I'll check with Madam Rosmerta and some of the regulars at the Three Broomsticks and then head over to Madam Puddifoot's,' said Ginny, squeezing Harry's hand. 'We'll all meet up with you and Malfoy at the Hog's Head when we've finished.'

Harry nodded. 'Does that work for you, Draco?' he asked, half hoping he would say no so Harry could bring Ginny with them.

Draco considered for a moment, and then nodded as well. 'Yes, that should do. I think we should leave immediately, the sooner the better.' He looked up at the statue for a long moment, considering the mingled looks of defiance and victory on the faces of the marble versions of Harry, Ron, and Hermione before he looked at the real ones, plus Ginny, again. 'Before we set out, I'd like to thank you all for your help. I know we've had our…disagreements in the past, but it does mean a lot to me that you took the time to help me.'

No more words were said, but they all nodded at each other and walked as one to the archway leading to the lifts. They rode down in silence and when they arrived at the Atrium, went through the employees exit (still the fireplaces that led to the toilets in Muggle London) and went in pairs, with Ginny walking with Harry and Draco, to the secluded alley that Harry, Hermione, and Ron had once Apparated into to infiltrate the Ministry. Harry kissed Ginny goodbye and waved to Hermione and Ron before nodding to Draco and Disapparating to Hogsmeade. They all appeared on the high street, a little ways away from the village proper, close to it, though also quite close to the Shrieking Shack. One by one, the others appeared there as well, Ginny appearing last. They departed, Harry and Malfoy turning off first to go to the Hog's Head, its sign of a bloody severed head of a boar swinging in the light breeze that carried the faint scent of rain on it. The others continued up the street, Ginny breaking off on her own while Hermione and Ron held hands as they walked towards the very ostentatious storefront of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

Harry opened the door to the Hog's Head pub and let Draco enter first, Harry closing the door behind them. There were few patrons at the bar and one such person swiftly paid the barman, Aberforth Dumbledore, and left upon seeing Harry. The others paid them no mind, though a warlock in one corner looked up from his book for a few moments before returning to it and his drink. Aberforth looked somewhat surprised to see the pair of them together, though he didn't do much about it. He watched them as they walked to the bar and quirked an eyebrow in a silent question.

'Something to drink, lads?' he asked as he cleaned a grimy glass with an equally grimy rag. He had done the same the first time Harry had seen him in his fifth year, though that was before he knew that Aberforth was the younger brother of his former headmaster, Albus.

Harry shook his head. 'Maybe later, Aberforth. We need to ask you a few questions about Thursday night. You were here, were you not?'

Aberforth nodded shiftily. 'Yeah, I was here. What about it?' he asked. One of the bar patrons, an elderly witch draped in shawls vaguely reminiscent of Professor Trelawney, came up to the bar and paid for her drink before she left. Aberforth swept the Sickles from the dusty wooden surface of the bar and dropped it into the till.

Draco stepped closer and put his hands on the bar with a look of slight distaste. 'My father, Lucius Malfoy, was supposed to be in here that night. Did you see him come in?' he asked. It was obvious to Harry that Draco was desperate for answers and this, above anything else that had happened that day, confirmed that Malfoy was telling the truth. He would not have shown such, in his eyes, weakness in front of anyone if he had not needed to.

Aberforth thought a moment as a stray goat meandered in the door with a tinkle from the bell round its neck behind the bar before going back outside at a stern look from its master. 'Yeah, he was here. He was waiting for some bloke and ordered a Firewhiskey, but he didn't drink it.'

'I don't care what he ordered,' Draco said sharply, slipping back into the attitude he usually had when Harry was around him. Harry cleared his throat and shot Draco a look that clearly meant he was not to be rude to Aberforth. Draco looked almost as though he wanted to curse Harry or Aberforth or possibly both, but he looked away instead, comporting himself once more into a calm young wizard. 'Sorry,' he said, 'I'm just very worried. Did the other man he was waiting for show up?'

Aberforth narrowed his eyes shrewdly at them for a moment, but then returned to cleaning his glass and nodded absentmindedly. 'He showed about fifteen minutes after your dad,' he said to Draco. 'I didn't recognize him though, not someone I'd seen in here before.'

Harry looked the older man in the eyes for a moment, but he was still not a very accomplished Legilimens and could not, as yet, detect lies just by staring into another person's eyes. 'What did this other man look like?'

'He was thin and was quite pale. He had oily brown hair and wore a shabby black traveling cloak with the hood up when he came in,' Aberforth said, closing his eyes so as to better remember, then opened them to refocus on Harry and Draco. 'I didn't really hear him talk beyond ordering a drink, though he had a simpering, smooth voice when I did hear him. Mr Malfoy looked like he knew who he was, even if I didn't. They didn't stay very long after the other bloke came in.'

Draco slumped a bit and sat down at the bar and looked at Harry, who also sat down on a bar stool. 'So all we have is that my father knew this man and left with him. That isn't much to go on.' He sighed and looked at Aberforth again. 'Did you hear them say anything about where they were going?' He sounded hopeful once again, though Harry suspected that this was a last ditch effort on the part of Draco. This was partly because of the air of defeat around him, and partly because Harry had never known Draco to be that blindly hopeful in all the time they'd known each other.

Aberforth shook his head. 'No, I didn't hear anything like that.'

Harry had a sudden thought and stood abruptly. 'Do you remember the table they were sitting at?' he asked Aberforth.

The barman looked at him oddly, and then nodded in a hesitant matter. 'Come with me,' he said as he came around the end of the bar. Harry and Draco followed him to the corner of the bar on the same wall as the main enterance; coincidentally, it was also the corner that could not be seen from the door. Anyone entering the bar would be in full view of any patrons sitting at the corner table before they could properly look at the corner themselves. 'This is where Mr Malfoy and his guest were sitting, though like I said they didn't stay long,' Aberforth said and shrugged, returning to his usual post as another person had entered and immediately sat down at the bar, looking for the bartender.

Harry looked around on the floor, knowing Aberforth usually didn't clean the floor unless it was absolutely necessary. There was nothing there, though. So he started looking under each of the four chairs, moving in a counter-clockwise order until he was back where he started. Just as he was about to give up, having not succeeded in finding anything like he had hoped to, he saw something on the underside of the table on the far edge. He quickly went to that side and dropped to the floor, pulling out his wand as he did. He prodded the small folded square of parchment with the tip of his wand, but there didn't seem to be anything funny about it, so he reached out and pulled it. It didn't budge.

'Draco, fancy coming over here a moment?' he asked, looking straight ahead and jumping slightly as he saw Draco was already across from him. 'Don't scare me like that when I'm holding a wand!' he exclaimed, drawing a few unwelcome glances from the pub patrons and Aberforth. He recovered and pointed at the parchment stuck to the table. 'Try and pull that off, would you? I couldn't get it.'

Draco nodded and reached for it, sliding his fingers under the parchment and easily pulling it off. Obviously it was meant for either him or his mother and that was why Harry could not remove it. Draco hastily unfolded it and read it, the frown he had worn since they had left the Ministry deepening with each line he apparently read. Wordlessly, he handed the parchment to Harry when he finished. Harry took it gingerly and sat on one of the chairs as he read it through several times. It read simply:

_Draco-_

_If you are reading this, I have not returned from my sojourn to the Hog's Head and the meeting I was not at liberty to explain to you and your mother. If I have not returned by Saturday evening, look for me in my usual haunts. I can say no more here, my time is running short for the man I'm meeting is due to arrive at any moment. Give my love to your mother and remember that anything I do, I do for the both of your safety. Make sure Narcissa is safe before you take off looking for me. Also, if you feel the need to employ anyone else in looking for me, trust no one until you've made sure they are who they appear to be._

_With love,_

_Your father, Lucius_

Harry looked up at Draco who was quite pale and sitting stiff on his chair. The letter had obviously shocked him, and Harry could see why. It seemed like somewhat of a goodbye letter, though Harry was somewhat disappointed that Lucius had not specified where his 'usual haunts' were. They could have been anywhere in Britain and wouldn't be of any help if Draco didn't know them all. Harry turned in his chair and looked for Aberforth, motioning for him to come over.

'Can we get a few glasses of Butterbeer?' Harry asked. Aberforth nodded and was about to leave when Draco spoke up.

'Make mine a Firewhiskey,' he said glumly. Aberforth cocked a bushy eyebrow, but decided not to question anything and went to get their drinks. Harry knew that he normally not wait on his patrons, but he was making a one-time exception for Harry.

'Where are these usual haunts, Draco?' Harry asked after Aberforth had returned with their drinks. Draco took a sip of his Firewhiskey and grimaced as it burned down his throat. Harry opened and took a drag from his dusty Butterbeer bottle as he waited for Draco to respond.

'My father didn't visit many places after the war, we were afraid to leave the manor,' he said quietly in case there were any eavesdroppers in the bar. 'The only places I can think of are Borgin and Burke's, a pub called The Green Dragon, and the Ministry.'

Harry thought about this. Borgin and Burke's might be somewhere they could go, though The Green Dragon was a place Harry had never heard of before and it was more unlikely than anything else that Lucius Malfoy was at the Ministry of Magic. 'Where do you think he might be?' Harry asked hesitantly.

Draco shook his head and tossed back his remaining Firewhiskey, grimacing again. 'No idea,' he replied. 'When the others get back we can split up once more, three of us going to Knockturn Alley and the other two going to The Green Dragon. We should all be careful though, anyone who would have taken my father has to be quite dangerous.'

Harry nodded, silently agreeing with Draco. They did not speak again except to order refills, Draco getting a gillywater instead of another Firewhiskey and Harry asking for another Butterbeer. About half an hour later, Ginny entered and looked around a bit before joining Harry and Draco at the table. Harry kissed her cheek and grasped her hand unthinkingly when she sat down next to him. She smiled softly at him and ordered a Butterbeer when she saw that the other two had drinks in front of them as well. Only after she'd taken a swig of it did she seem ready to talk.

'Well,' she said after a moment, both Harry and Draco looking at her intently, 'Rosmerta doesn't remember seeing him, but a few people reckon they saw him heading in the direction of the Shrieking Shack, but weren't positive. Another witch swears he was heading for Hogwarts. So really, I didn't find out much.' She took another swig of Butterbeer and went on. 'No one at Madam Puddifoot's remembers seeing him at all. Scrivenshaft's and Gladrags were already closed by the time Mr Malfoy would have been in town and since the Owl Post Office is back towards Madam Puddifoot's, I didn't think it was worth it going in there and trying to talk over all the owls and ask pointless questions.'

Harry nodded, not having expected even that much from her search. 'At least someone besides Aberforth saw him in Hogsmeade.' He then proceeded to explain what they had learned of Lucius and his guest and showed her the note that had been left for Draco. Draco did not add much to the conversation except for a few nods in the affirmative.

Ginny asked similar questions to Harry about the 'usual haunts' mentioned in the note, but Harry cut across Draco and explained those as well. Draco looked slightly grateful at not having to speak. Ginny nodded and thought about this for a while. No one spoke between the three of them until Ron and Hermione came in, a few droplets of rain on their robes and in their hair. They immediately ordered Butterbeers from Aberforth and took them back to the table where Harry, Ginny, and Draco were eagerly waiting for them.

'Any luck?' Harry asked hesitantly after he explained what he and Draco had found out and had Ginny, who was still holding the creased piece of parchment, show each of them Lucius's note. He could not decipher the looks on their faces after he finished, so he waited for them to speak. They both took a drag from the Butterbeers before Hermione spoke.

'Well, Mr Flume from Honeydukes saw Mr Malfoy walk down the high street from the direction of Hogwarts around five thirty, but didn't see him again,' she said quietly. 'He also said that about ten minutes after Mr Malfoy walked by, another man with his hood raised walked by going in the same direction. He said he'd remembered the second man because he thought it odd that someone would be wearing a hood when it was so bright outside.'

Harry nodded and looked to Ron. 'How about at the shop?' he asked.

'Not much, really,' Ron replied. 'Verity didn't remember seeing Lucius going to the pub; she said they were busy that afternoon.' Ron took another drink and looked up as he set it down. 'But she did say she saw both of them walk by window in the direction of the Shrieking Shack. She saw the face of the other guy, but she said she couldn't remember who he was. She said she knew she'd seen him before, but not from where or when she had.' Ron finished and drank more of his Butterbeer. 'So what's the plan from here?'

Harry considered for a moment before answering. 'Draco and I think we should split up and check the two places that are the most likely that Lucius would go. If we can't find him there, we'll have to come up with something.' Harry looked at each in turn, turning to Ginny last. 'I also think you should go back to the Burrow to get ready for Quidditch. It's almost one thirty and if you leave now, you should have time to do one more thing for us before you go to the match.'

Ginny nodded reluctantly. 'What do you need, Harry?' she asked with a slightly petulant tone. She knew, as well as everyone else at the table did, that she was being asked to withdraw because Harry was trying to protect her, but she didn't say anything about it. It was more likely she would do so when she had Harry alone later on.

'I'd like you to go see Hagrid and Professor McGonagall. If he was walking away from Hogwarts, he might have been up there talking to someone,' he said, squeezing her hand gently. 'There's about half an hour that isn't accounted for and I'd really like to know where he was in that time.'

Ginny nodded, appearing to be pleased that she was not being asked to leave completely. 'All right, if I learn anything, I'll send word by Patronus. If you don't hear from me, just assume that I didn't hear anything worth telling you about.'

Harry nodded and smiled slightly. 'Be safe, Gin.'

'I will, Harry,' she said with a matching smile. 'I love you,' she whispered.

'Love you, too,' he replied and kissed her softly. She said her goodbyes to the others and left.

Harry looked at the others. 'So, who wants to go where?' he asked the other three. Ron and Hermione looked at each other while Draco just looked into the bottom of his gillywater glass as though it could give him answers. Harry sighed. 'Ron, you and Hermione check The Green Dragon and the area around it. If anyone has seen anything, send a Patronus, we'll do the same. If not, meet Draco and I at the Diagon Alley Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes location in forty-five minutes,' he said, deciding to take the initiative and the lead of their operation which looked more and more like a search and rescue rather than simply a search like it had at the start. 'If you can't find us there, be on your guard and look for us in Knockturn Alley.'

Ron looked slightly alarmed. 'Do you think it might come down to that, Harry?' he asked.

Harry nodded gravely. 'It might, you never know. Just be on your guard and look out for anything suspicious. If you find yourself in too much danger or an uncomfortable situation, get yourselves out as fast as you can. If that happens, we'll all meet up at the Burrow and go from there.'

Hermione nodded hesitantly and rose with Ron. 'We'll see you soon, Harry. You, too, Draco,' she added as an afterthought. 'If anything happens to Harry and we find out you had a hand in it, we'll come after you.'

Draco looked up at the quietly fierce tone in her voice. 'I give you my oath as a wizard that if there is a fight to be had, I will fight alongside Potter, not against him.' Harry sucked in a sharp breath and Ron did a double-take at Draco while Hermione's eyes widened. A Wizard's Oath was less powerful that the more well known Unbreakable Vow, though it was equally significant. Since Draco had vowed not to harm Harry, he could not unless he wanted to endure horrible agony. The only thing close to it, besides the Unbreakable Vow, was a Life Debt akin to the one that Peter Pettigrew once owed to Harry and had saved Harry's life in the cellar of Malfoy Manor.

Hermione nodded hesitantly. 'All right, we'll get going now, then,' she said. Ron nodded as well, looking slightly impressed by Malfoy's Oath. He reached for his money pouch, but Draco raised a hand.

'Don't worry about your drinks, I'll pay for them,' he said. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were impressed and surprised yet again. They all knew Draco was rich, but they'd never known him to be so beneficent. The only thing Harry could think was that Draco was so shaken by the aftermath of the war and the disappearance of his father that he had grown up from the cruel Draco Malfoy he had known at school.

Ron shrugged and left with Hermione without another word. Hermione waved goodbye as Harry and Draco rose. Harry grabbed the bottles that Ginny, Ron, and Hermione had left on the table along with his own and carried them to the bar while Draco took his glass and paid Aberforth. Harry tipped him a Galleon, though Draco tried to forestall him. Harry wouldn't have it and paid Aberforth anyway.

'Hope you find what you're looking for,' Aberforth said. It was clear that he was reluctant to say that much. Harry thanked him, as did Draco, and they left the bar together.

'Before we leave Hogsmeade,' Harry said as they walked down the high street towards the Shrieking Shack, 'let's head over to the Shrieking Shack, just to make sure he isn't there with whoever it is he was drinking with.'

Draco nodded and kept walking past where they had first Apparated to when they came earlier. They walked in silence, bypassing the locked gate and continuing down the path to the front door of the Shrieking Shack. It was locked. There was a heavy cast iron padlock and chains along with a sign that bore the legend, 'KEEP OUT! NO TRESPASSING!'

Harry pulled out his wand. 'Alohomora!' he said, pointing at the heavy padlock. There was a click and the padlock fell off, the chains going limp. Harry opened the door, keeping his wand drawn and entered with Draco following close behind him, his wand drawn as well.

They walked around the ground level, not finding anything until Draco saw bloodstains near a crate pushed up against a wall. 'Potter!' he hissed, lighting his wand silently and pointing it at the blood on the floor. Harry rushed over and looked where Draco was pointing, relaxing slightly when he realized where the bloodstains were.

'It's all right, Draco. That's where Snape died,' he said, his voice choking off slightly. Though he hadn't had much liking for Snape in life, after he'd died Harry understood and pitied the man a bit more.

Draco lowered his wand and extinguished it. 'I was wondering where…' he stopped, deciding not to say any more on that particular subject.

Harry turned and started up the stairs, stepping over some weak spots and holes in the aged wood. Draco followed him after a moment, clearly having to master his emotions first. They split at the top and searched room by room. Harry took the room that Sirius had taken Ron to in their third year so that Draco wouldn't ask questions about the paw prints and obvious signs of a person being dragged about and a scuffle as well. There was nothing to be found in the shack, though Harry hadn't suspected there would be. He and Draco left and went back to the road.

'When we get to Knockturn Alley,' Draco said, 'let me do the talking. Borgin might not want to talk to you.'

Harry nodded. There was nothing more to be said. They looked at each other then Disapparated at the same time, reappearing in one of the alleys between Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. This time, Draco took the lead and led Harry to the shop Harry had only been in once. Borgin and Burke's was shabbier than ever. The always grimy windows displaying dark artifacts were more obscured than usual, only a few things visible. Harry wondered if the store was still occupied, but Draco just strode inside without stopping to look in the window. It was as dark as the last time Harry had been inside and Borgin was nowhere to be seen. There were several blank spots on the shelves, evident only because the spots where they had been were less dusty than the spaces around them. It was obvious to Harry that there was no longer a high demand for the kinds of things that the shop sold. He followed Draco to the counter and waiting while he rang the bell. After a few moments, Borgin came out from the storeroom behind the counter and looked shocked as he saw Draco, even more so when he spotted Harry.

'Master Malfoy? What brings you to my humble shop?' Borgin asked, his oily voice laced with fear. It appeared he'd decided to just ignore Harry instead of acknowledge him beyond the shocked expression he'd worn when setting eyes on him when he'd initially seen him. Harry looked to Draco and saw that he'd drawn himself up and put on the sneer he usually wore when addressing those he considered lesser than him, though Harry thought it looked slightly half-hearted.

'I am looking for my father, Borgin,' Malfoy said, sneering at the small man. 'If you know anything, you had best tell me now.'

Borgin swallowed hard and his forehead broke out in sweat. 'I-I-I don't know a-anything, M-master Malfoy,' he stuttered, utterly unconvincing.

Harry moved closer to Draco, pulling his wand out as he did. Borgin's eyes shifted to Harry so quickly it was hard to track the movement, then he shifted them back to Draco who had also drawn his wand.

'Ch-check the b-back,' Borgin said in an inaudible whisper. He moved from behind the counter and into a far corner of the shop.

Harry and Draco quickly circled the counter and, each taking a side of the holey and nasty black curtain, nodded to each other. Harry counted down from three on his fingers and when he reached one muttered, 'Diffindo!' pointing his wand at the top of the curtain. It fell, letting Harry and Draco rush through the now vacant archway. What they saw inside made Harry pause in horror for a moment before looking at Draco. The younger Malfoy had stopped dead, his wand shaking in his grip. They were facing a tilted metal examination table like those frequently seen in old photographs of hospitals for the mentally-ill. On it was the unconscious, possibly dead, form of Lucius Malfoy. His long hair, normally quite clean and straight, was grimy and disheveled, splayed around his head and it looked as though it had been burned off in some places. He was shirtless and there were straps holding him to the bed, half-healed cuts, welts, and bruises forming nonsensical patterns on his chest. His arms were likewise battered and bruised, two more straps wrapped around his wrists and further secured to the table. A rattling wheeze came from him and Harry relaxed some, knowing that he was still alive. From the waist down, he wore trousers with holes and burn marks marring them. His face, too, had been savaged. It looked as though he might have a broken cheek bone and both eyes had been blackened and swollen shut. There was a long gash leading from Lucius's scalp to the bottom of his stubbly chin and it looked like someone had attempted to close it with magic and had not bothered to finish the job.

Harry sucked in a hasty breath and fought the urge to retch. He heard a noise behind him and spun just in time to avoid a blow from hooded and cloaked figure in the archway leading back into the shop. Harry danced backwards and fired a hex at the man, but he'd dodged it. Draco, at this point, had realized what was happening and spun around to face the attacker that had most likely captured and tortured his father. It was hard dueling in the close quarters of the storeroom, but it made it easier for Harry that Draco was on his side, the both of them battling the figure they assumed was a man. At one point, the hood was thrown back to reveal a Death Eaters' mask. Harry dueled faster and harder, Malfoy doing the same. Eventually, Harry landed a powerful Stunning Spell right to the man's chest which threw him backwards into the counter and toppled him over it. Harry rushed around the counter, Malfoy vaulting on top of it and on over, and Harry kicked the man's wand aside and glared down at him.

'Incarcerous!' Harry growled. Ropes sprang into existence and wrapped themselves sinuously around the Death Eater's arms and legs, binding them together with no possibility of movement. Harry leaned down and pried the mask from the now struggling man's face. It was Walden MacNair, the would-be killer of Buckbeak years previously. The years had not been kind to MacNair, his once thick hair was thinning and graying as well, thick tufts were also missing from his mustache. Not only that, but Harry noticed he hadn't been eating and looked starved, bones of his face jutting out horribly.

'You,' Malfoy hissed. He still held his wand and pressed it to MacNair's throat. 'You are the one who kidnapped my father? You are the one who tortured him?'

MacNair laughed hoarsely, attempting to get out of his bonds. 'The Dark Lord will return and I will be the one to do it! Lucius was his favorite, he'll know how to bring the Dark Lord back, and I know it!' Harry groaned. He'd expected something like this, though not to such an extreme.

Draco pressed the wand harder into MacNair's throat. 'I should kill you myself, you sniveling excuse for a wizard.' MacNair laughed again, but then yelped as Draco's wand smoked slightly, the tip glowing red hot and burning the skin of his neck.

'You don't have the guts to kill anyone, Draco! You couldn't do in Dumbledore and you won't be able to kill me!' MacNair shouted, laughing once more.

Draco yelled, 'Avada-!'

'NO!' Harry shouted, turning his wand on Draco instead of the now scared looking Death Eater. 'If you kill him now, I'll have to arrest you, Draco. Let him live and face charges. You don't want to do this.'

'I don't care,' Draco hissed, pointing his wand between MacNair's eyes. 'Azkaban won't be so bad; he deserves to die!'

A cough and wheeze came from the other room. 'Draco? Is that you?' called the faint voice of Lucius Malfoy. Immediately, Draco turned and dashed back to his father's side.

Harry, however, stayed where he was, training his wand upon MacNair once more. 'You know, I could let Draco kill you, but I think I'd rather haul you into the Ministry myself. I want to be there at your trial when you face charges on being a Death Eater, trying to bring back Voldemort,' MacNair flinched at his former master's name, 'and torturing an innocent civilian.'

MacNair did not look as frightened as Harry thought he should be. 'Azkaban is nothing without the Dementors,' he spat at Harry. 'I'll be welcomed by the others, especially once they hear of my noble work, trying to bring back our master!' The emaciated man laughed once more, though after a moment he started coughing.

Harry smiled coldly, no trace of true amusement displayed on his face or in his mannerisms. 'You'll be convicted and sentenced, then I'll personally take you to Azkaban and help you to the solitary confinement area. Do you know what that is? That's where you won't have any contact with any of the other prisoners. The only time you'll see another human is when you are brought food and only then for brief moments. You won't be able to hear anything or be heard. How does that sound, MacNair?'

Now, Harry thought, MacNair looked frightened. Harry smiled again and stood, levitating the bound MacNair into the air so he could not escape as he went to check on Draco and Lucius. Draco had removed the straps binding his father's chest and wrists to the table and was now trying to help him to stand.

'Draco! We can't let him walk without knowing what has happened to his legs and feet. You'll have to Apparate with him directly to St. Mungo's,' Harry said urgently. He helped Draco lay Lucius back down gently, though another groan came from the man's chapped lips. 'I'll join you in a bit, I have to take MacNair to Azkaban and fill out some papers. Wait for me there, I'll find you as fast as I can.'

Draco merely nodded, grasping his wand in one hand and a seemingly uninjured part of his father's forearm in the other. He nodded once more to Harry and then Disapparated with a pop. Harry turned and stalked into the shop proper, seeking out Borgin. He found him in a back corned, curled into the fetal position and sniveling.

'Did you have any part in this, Borgin?' Harry asked, his dangerous tone daring the smaller man to argue.

Borgin whimpered and held up his hands. 'N-no! MacNair m-made me meet master M-Malfoy in the Hog's Head and bring him back here. After th-that he threatened to do the s-same to me if I said anything to a-anyone. I didn't want to d-do any of this!'

Harry nodded coldly and went back to the counter were MacNair was struggling futilely in mid-air to get out of his bonds. Harry grabbed MaacNair's upper arm and turned on the spot, Disapparating from the shop with a pop.

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'So MacNair had him the whole time?' Hermione asked later. They'd just come from St. Mungo's and were sitting at the kitchen table of the Burrow with Ron. They were just about to leave for the Holyhead Harpies/Puddlemere United Quidditch game and Harry wanted to tell them what had happened before they left.

Harry sighed. 'Yes, apparently. He wanted to find a way to bring Voldemort back and thought Lucius Malfoy would know how because he was Voldemort's favorite at one point. When Lucius didn't tell him what he wanted to hear, MacNair told me, and anyone who would listen, that he had Stunned Lucius and began torturing him.'

Ron and Hermione shook their heads wearily. They had not found anything worth interest at The Green Dragon and had been waiting with George at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes when Harry's Patronus had arrived and told them what happened. After Harry returned from Azkaban, they'd met at the shop and Apparated straight to St. Mungo's hospital. They'd met up with Draco who had told them his father was with his mother and would not see any visitors at that time. He'd thanked them and walked off, obviously not wanting any more to do with them. It appeared the olive branch he'd held out to them only extended as far as reaching his own ends and no farther. This did not bother Harry very much, though. He still disliked Draco and his family, remembering this when he had to stop Draco from killing MacNair.

'Git,' Ron said succinctly.

Hermione looked up from the study of her interlaced fingers on the table. 'Harry, what if there are other Death Eaters out there? Waiting to come out of hiding and try to bring Voldemort back?'

Harry looked at her. 'I guess we'll have to deal with them when they come, Hermione. We shouldn't bother ourselves with them now, though.' He looked at the pair of them and tried to plaster a smile on his face. 'Come on, let's go to the Quidditch game. I really want to see Ginny fly today and we have prime seats.'

Ron grinned a bit hesitantly and looked to Hermione. She still looked slightly troubled, but smiled some and got up.

'Okay, let's go,' she said bravely. Harry and Ron stood as well and they all walked to the door.

'Wait!' Harry said, dashing upstairs. He went to one of the drawers in his dresser and pulled out a pair of badges, one reading, 'Support Puddlemere United!' and the other bearing the legend, 'Go Harpies!' with the talon that was the team's insignia emblazoned on it. He pinned each to a side of his robes and ran back downstairs. Ron laughed at his appearance and they all walked outside, Harry closing and locking the kitchen door behind him before they all Disapparated just beyond the garden fence.

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A/N: Sorry about the lengthiness, there was a lot to tell. Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews highly appreciated!!!


	5. Day Off

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (or any of its subsidiaries) nor do I claim to.

A/N: Not much action to be had here, though I am quite disappointed at the amount of reviews I've gotten. I expected more from the amount of people who have read this story and I thank those that have. Please review more or I may not see reason to finish this story.

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'_And Weasley scores again, bringing the score to 90-80 in favor of the Holyhead Harpies!' _called out Lee Jordan, his voice magically magnified with a megaphone that was quite similar to the one he used at school. Even after he left Hogwarts, he stood in as Quidditch commentator sometimes when he was needed or wanted. He was there that day at the special request of Oliver Wood. _'United in possession and they're streaking down the pitch, wait! Chaser William Beckley is hit by a Bludger and drops the Quaffle. It's caught by Harpies Chaser Guinevere Morgan, daughter of former Harpies Chaser Gwendolyn Morgan. They've changed direction and are racing up the pitch, changing the Quaffle between them and Morgan takes her shot on goal and…is blocked by Keeper Oliver Wood!'_

Harry groaned with the others and booed at Wood good-naturedly. He, Ron, Hermione, and a half dozen other fans were situated in the press box of the Harpies Stadium just outside of Holyhead, Wales. Ginny and Oliver had both offered them tickets in their own teams' boxes, but they did not want to show favouritism for either team, so they traded for press box seats. It was more exciting there, anyway. They were directly above the centre of the pitch and could see everything in great detail. Ginny and the other three Harpies Chasers flew by their window and, if there had not been a window there, their hair and robes would have been tossed around them in the blast of wind.

The game went on in a rather fast paced and exciting manner for the next hour and a half, Ginny scoring twice more for the Harpies and intercepting the Quaffle three times when United got too cocky and tried to pass over the rookie player. It was a rough match, the Beaters from United aiming at the Keeper for the Harpies, Genevieve Devereaux, nearly giving her a concussion. Unfortunately, the referee had not been looking many of the times this had happened and when he was, the Quaffle was usually in the scoring area. Finally, when the score was 110-90 in favor of the Harpies, Harry saw the Snitch with the ever-unerring eye of the Seeker. Both of the Seekers on the pitch had seen it too and it was a mad rush to get to it. Whoever caught it now would win; there was not a wide enough margin to ensure victory for the team who did not catch it to still win. In a great sweep of her hand worthy of Harry himself, the Harpies Seeker Gisela Vogel caught the fluttering golden ball. A roar went up from the Harpies side of the patch and was echoed by Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

'_And it's over! The Holyhead Harpies win the match 260-90! Well done Harpies!'_ Lee Jordan called exuberantly. _'The team is now doing a customary victory lap which will be followed by a sportsmanly handshake between all players from both sides. Better luck next time, United, you all played brilliantly as well!'_ Lee stepped away from the magical megaphone and took a long drink of water before turning to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. 'Can Ginny play or what?' he asked excitedly, if a bit tiredly.

'Yes she can!' Harry said happily. Quidditch had been just the thing to chase the memory of finding Lucius Malfoy from his mind.

'That was brilliant!' exclaimed Ron as he pounded Harry on the back happily. 'What should we do for Gin when she gets home?'

'I say we get a cake and some champagne to toast her and the Harpies,' Hermione suggested, a huge grin on her face.

Lee grinned and turned back to the pitch and shouted out a few last announcements concerning a few shops that had paid to advertise and a few products that had likewise asked to be mentioned. By the time he had finished, Gwenog Jones and the others had strode into the press box with tired smiled and their brooms over their shoulders.

'_Give it up for the Holyhead Harpies!' _Lee shouted again, stepping up the magical megaphone once more. Another roar rose from the crowd as Lee shook hands with each team member. After they had shaken hands with Lee and then the owners of each team, they had a group hug and retreated to the showers, but not before Ginny ran up to throw her arms around Harry and fiercely kiss him.

'See you in a bit, Harry. I'm just going to go and shower and change,' she said with the same burning passion in her eyes Harry had seen the first time they had kissed. 'Meet me outside the Harpies changing rooms in about twenty minutes.'

'Sounds good to me, Gin,' Harry replied. 'Great game!'

'Thanks!' she said as she rushed out of the press box to join the rest of her team in their march down to the changing rooms.

Harry turned to Ron and Hermione. 'Do you think you can get a cake and some champagne and have it at the Burrow in less than twenty minutes?' he asked quickly.

'Yeah, shouldn't be a problem,' Ron replied. He pulled out his wand and grinned at Hermione. 'Let's go, we want to get home before Harry and Ginny!'

Hermione laughed and allowed Ron to drag her from the room, waving at Harry on the way. Harry exchanged a few words with Lee Jordan and made to leave the box when he heard someone call his name from behind him. He turned to see one of the reporters from the Daily Prophet motioning for Harry to come closer.

'If I might have a word?' he asked pleasantly. Harry was slightly hesitant, but he didn't have a grudge against the Daily Prophet in general, he just disliked Rita Skeeter. He walked over and crossed his arms in front of him, not speaking until the reporter did. 'Thanks, Mr Potter. I just wanted your take on the game, seeing as I'm the Quidditch columnist and it's always interesting having a celebrity give their take on what happened in a match. Gives a bit of color to my column.'

Harry thought about it a moment and decided to keep it short and simple. 'I think that both teams played brilliantly. That was a spectacular catch of the Snitch, one I'd have been proud to make when I was on the Gryffindor team.'

The columnist nodded and wrote furiously quickly, trying to get direct quotes of what Harry was saying. 'And have you ever thought of returning to Quidditch? I hear you were quite good when you were in school.'

Harry smiled slightly. 'I've given it some thought, yes, but if I do it won't be for a while. I have a full-time job and a godson to look after.'

The columnist smiled back as he finished. 'Anything you'd like to say on the performance of your girlfriend, Ginny Weasley? It was her first time playing starting Chaser, correct?'

Harry nodded. 'Yeah, it was and she was amazing. I would say I'm surprised, but she's only gotten better since I captained the Gryffindor team in my sixth year at Hogwarts.' He smiled again and backed away a step.

'Thanks, Mr Potter. That's all I have,' the reporter said and cast a quick Drying Charm on the parchment before rolling it up and sealing it with his wand. 'Thank you for your time.'

Harry nodded and shook the man's hand before saying goodbye to Lee and heading down into the crush of people that was heading for the exits. About ten minutes later and with much jostling and elbowing, Harry made it to the nearly deserted corridor that housed the changing rooms for both the Harpies and the opposing team. Harry only had to wait a few minutes before the team started filing out in much more casual robes than they had worn for the match. They all said hello to Harry and he congratulated each of them as they left. He was well known among the Harpies, both on the starting squad and the reserve team as he frequented their games and practices to see Ginny. When she came out she threw her arms around Harry once more and grinned widely.

'I have some news again,' she said with a mischievous glint in her eye. 'I'll wait until we're home so I can tell you, Ron, and Hermione all at once. I don't fancy repeating myself too much.'

Harry laughed and gallantly picked her up along with her broom, a Firebolt and a gift from Harry, and bag, something Ginny always protested to, but Harry knew she secretly enjoyed immensely. She shrieked with laughter as Harry carried her outside to the point where they could Disapparate. He reluctantly lowered her to the ground and kissed her once more before they both Disapparated, reappearing at the Burrow in an instant. They walked hand in hand up the garden path and in through the kitchen door. On the table was a cake the shape and colour of a Quaffle, only larger, and two bottles of champagne. Written on the cake were the words, 'Congrats Ginny! Go Harpies!'

'Congratulations, Gin!' Ron shouted, jumping down from the stairs. He'd changed into more comfortable Muggle clothing and so had Hermione, who arrived moments later. Harry had no doubt in his mind that they had helped each other to change, but he didn't care. It wasn't as if he and Ginny had not done the same before.

Ginny let go of Harry's hand and hugged her brother and then Hermione. 'Do you lot mind if I go and change?' she asked, picking up her broom and bag.

'Go ahead,' Hermione said with a smile. 'We'll cut up the cake and serve it while we're waiting for you. I'll make sure Ron doesn't eat the whole thing while you're upstairs.'

Ron scoffed at Hermione and glared. Harry and Ginny laughed. 'I'm going to change as well, my robes are getting itchy,' Harry said. He thought he saw a knowing gleam in Hermione's eyes and Ron looked at him with a slightly annoyed acceptance. If he and Hermione had been helping each other, he couldn't say anything about Harry and Ginny doing the same.

Harry and Ginny ascended the stairs together, Harry holding Ginny's door open for her in a gentlemanly fashion. She giggled softly and pushed him inside ahead of her, closing and locking the door behind her. Harry drew her to him and kissed her slowly and with much excess passion. When they surfaced a few minutes later, Harry slowly pulled of Ginny's robes and let them pile on the floor around her feet. He didn't undress her totally, however, for they'd never have left her room if he had. After he finished they kissed again and looked around for something suitable for her to wear. They decided on loose fitting faded jeans and a white t-shirt with green horizontal stripes that was quite form-fitting. When they finished, the trudged hand in hand up to Harry's room, Harry entering first again, having been pushed inside by Ginny like before. Ginny locked the door behind her again and slowly undressed Harry as he'd undressed her. They kissed intermittently until Harry was in his boxer shorts again. Ginny rooted around in his drawers and pulled out a pair of jeans and a Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes t-shirt, helping him to get them on. Before they left, Harry slipped on his house shoes; they walked hand-in-hand down the stairs and back into the kitchen.

'Finally! We thought you might've gotten lost!' Ron exclaimed, a few pieces already missing from Ginny's cake. Harry raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. 'What? I'm hungry!'

At this, Harry and Ginny laughed while Hermione rolled her eyes. They all sat at the table and picked up their glasses of champagne. Harry stood and cleared his throat.

'I propose a toast! To Ginny Weasley, the best bloody Chaser I've ever seen!' he said loudly, raising his glass. The others laughed and Ginny punched him as he sat down once again. They sipped their champagne and started chatting about the match and eating the cake that Ron and Hermione had picked it out.

They stayed downstairs and chatted a while, eating cake and drinking champagne. Round ten forty-five, Ginny was nodding off in her chair.

'All right, I think it's time to go to bed, at least for Gin, here,' Harry said softly. Ron and Hermione nodded. 'I think I'll retire myself. See you two tomorrow.' Ron yawned and stood as Harry did. Harry picked up the drowsing Ginny while Ron uncharacteristically took all of their dishes and glasses to the sink.

Harry carried Ginny up to his room, bypassing hers completely. Ron and Hermione knew they liked to sleep together and no one said anything because they did the same whenever Hermione could get away with it when she stayed overnight. Harry had some difficulty opening the door, but since Ginny was not totally asleep, she assisted him and pushed turned the handle, pushing it open. Harry smiled lovingly down at her and carried her to the chair next to the chest of drawers. He set her down gently and pulled one of her sheer dressing gowns from a secret compartment in his underwear drawer. It always paid for Harry to keep a spare dressing gown of Ginny's in his room just in case they needed it. She likewise kept a few pairs of Harry's boxers in a secret compartment in her own underwear drawer.

He helped her to change and carried her to the bed, tucking her in. If Ginny could have walked or been awake enough to protest, she would have and most likely have smacked him. Independent was too weak a word to describe Ginny Weasley. Harry disrobed and, by the time he slid under the light covers, Ginny was fast asleep. She turned over and slid an arm across his chest, holding him tight and using his shoulder as a pillow. He smiled, snuggling into the love of his life as he drifted off to sleep as well.

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The next day, Harry awoke before Ginny, though it was still late in the morning. The sheets had been tossed about in the night and the sun was already warming the room, so Harry did not bother with pulling them back up. He looked at Ginny and could not bring himself to wake her just yet. He slowly extricated himself from her and the tangled sheets, putting his feet on the slightly warmed wooden floor with deliberate care. He was trying his best to let Ginny sleep while he went downstairs. He slowly crossed to his closet next to his writing desk, opening the door and withdrawing a dressing gown. He did not wish to get fully dressed that early on in the morning and if he had, he was sure Ginny would have woken. He took his wand from the bedside table before kissing Ginny's forehead. She smiled dreamily, still fast asleep. Harry smiled as well and made to move towards the door, but he stubbed his toe on the bed. Eyes watering, he cursed silently in his head, bright white sparks falling from his wand with his suppressed pain.

He slid his feet gingerly into the black slippers by the door and quietly left his room, just barely leaving the door open behind him. He limped his way downstairs after he went to the bathroom for his standing morning appointment. When Harry entered the kitchen, he found it deserted. Ron and Hermione, it seemed, were still abed and sleeping in. When he came in view of the table, he groaned. There were three letters sitting there and an owl sat in the open window, the Sunday Prophet clutched in its beak. Harry opened the window and removed the paper and rummaged on the counter for the little bag of bronze Knuts. The owl looked irritated and, as Harry slid one of the small coins into the leather pouch on its ankle, it bit him hard on the hand. Shaking his hand, Harry turned from the open window, finding the breeze quite nice, and unrolled the Prophet. His eyes widened at the article on the front page.

**HARRY POTTER CAPTURES ROGUE DEATH EATER**

Walden MacNair, 42, of Wiltshire has been arrested for the kidnapping and torture of Lucius Malfoy. Yesterday, Saturday 24 July, Harry Potter with the aid of Draco Malfoy, son of reformed Death Eater Lucius, found MacNair hiding out in Borgin and Burke's, a shop known to sell Dark artifacts and located in Knockturn Alley.

Harry Potter, promoted to the status of full Auror the day before, was not available for comment on the issue of how he found MacNair or why he was working with his notorious rival from the days he was at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Likewise, Draco and Lucius Malfoy declined the offer to give their take on this strange occurrence. MacNair has been – Article continued Page 3.

There was a three-part moving photograph above the article that featured a screaming MacNair in one frame, a striding Harry avoiding the press from a different occasion in another, and a candid photo of Draco Malfoy in the third. Harry threw the paper moodily on the table and looked at the letters. They were all addressed to him, two of which being from the Daily Prophet and the other from his boss Gawain Robards. He ignored the first two and opened the third.

_Harry-_

_Though I do not mind you taking time out of your weekends to work, it is more orthodox to bring another Auror with you when apprehending a Death Eater that has eluded capture for so long. Please meet with me tomorrow morning as we will have to give a press conference concerning this most odd weekend arrest. No need to fret, you are not fired. I would like to discourage you from working on weekends in the future without my say-so, even if it was with admirable intentions. We will speak more about this tomorrow, come to my office at seven forty-five; we'll hold the press conference at eight._

_I hope the rest of your weekend is less eventful than yesterday._

_Gawain Robards_

Harry groaned again, tomorrow would not be an enjoyable day. He yawned and opened the other two letters, scanning them quickly. They both had nearly the same message, asking him for a one-on-one interview concerning the events of the day before. Harry tossed them into the bin next to the counter and pulled out a few pans. The letter from Gawain was sent up to his writing desk with a wave of his wand. He was determined to not let the article or the letter from his boss have any effect on the rest of his day. He bustled about the kitchen, waving his wand at the eggs he had pulled from the very top of the icebox (they were there to stay cold, a trick Mrs Weasley had learned from Hermione), a few potatoes that were lying on the counter, a few slices of bread from the breadbox, and several strips of bacon also from the icebox, trying to master cooking with magic. He emptied the teapot on the stove and refilled it, setting it back on a back burner and lighting all three with a poke from his wand.

In the end, Harry wound up with a decent meal, though it wasn't anything up to the standards of a competent cook. The fried eggs on toast were a little runny, the hashed potatoes slightly undercooked and had a bit too much salt, and the bacon was burned. The tea, on the other hand, was fine. It was hard to mess up tea, even with magic. After he finished, he set all of the pans and spatulas in the sink and ran water over them, not wanting to leave dirty dishes lying about in case Mr and Mrs Weasley came back early from their trip. He divvied the meal onto two plates and set them on a tray, arranging it so there was room for both plates, the tea service with a small bowl of sugar and an equally small carafe of fresh cream, and the silverware. He carried the whole lot carefully upstairs, trying not to spill any tea or cream, and pushed his door open with the foot that was not still smarting from being stubbed earlier.

Ginny was still asleep and Harry was glad for it. It was not the first time Harry had awoken her like this, but it was the first in over a year. He couldn't do so while she was finishing her seventh year at Hogwarts and they hadn't been left alone in the Burrow since school had ended. He smiled to himself at the peaceful look on Ginny's face as she slept; she still wore the smile he'd left on her face from when he'd gone downstairs earlier.

'Ginny,' he called softly. 'Ginny, wake up.' She stirred a little, but then let out a delicate snore. Harry bit back a laugh and tried again, a bit louder. 'Gin, it's time to wake up!' She stirred again and opened her eyes. She looked around blearily and finally focused on Harry next to the bed.

'G-g-good morning,' she said, yawning widely. She sat up in Harry's bed and smiled at him. 'You didn't have to make breakfast, Harry.' She helped him to settle it next to her and she scooted over as Harry circled to the other side of the bed, sitting down carefully so as not to jostle the tray.

'I know,' he replied, 'but I wanted to.' He scooped two spoonfuls of sugar into his cup of tea and a small amount of cream, stirring it with his spoon and taking a sip. He sighed happily and started eating his breakfast.

Ginny was enjoying it as well. 'You've gotten better at cooking,' she commented after breaking a few burned bits off a slice of bacon. 'Last year I'd have had to find a way to tactfully get rid of this bacon.' She grinned and took a bite of it before grabbing her fork and stabbing a piece of hashed potato.

Harry stuck out his tongue at her and did not deign to reply to this, though he still returned her grin. They ate in silence until their plates were clear and teacups empty, except for the most burned bits of bacon and some yolk from the eggs. Harry waved his wand and the tray, along with everything on it, disappeared to the kitchen counter downstairs.

'That was pretty good. Thanks Harry,' Ginny said and kissed him.

He kissed her back happily and didn't stop until they heard Ron and Hermione descending the stairs. The broke apart and looked towards the door, noticing it was still open. Harry hastily waved his wand at the door and it closed just before Ron and Hermione came into view. They kept walking without pause and Ginny sighed in relief.

'I should probably go get dressed, see you downstairs in a bit,' she said, kissing Harry again. He kissed her nose and she smiled at him. She got up and stretched like a cat before she grabbed her clothes from the night before and blowing him a kiss before she Apparated to her room, presumably.

Harry sighed and went to his window to check the weather before he got dressed. It was a bright and balmy July day. The cold snap had apparently ended. He smiled and got a light, plain white t-shirt out of his chest of drawers and a pair of light jeans as well before he went across the hall to the bathroom. He quickly showered and tried in vain to tame his hair before he went back downstairs to find Ron and Hermione pouring over the Sunday Prophet.

Harry grimaced. 'The shit is going to hit the fan tomorrow,' he said as he sat down at the table again. Ron looked up and Hermione nodded at him. 'I have a meeting with Gawain in the morning and I have to do a press conference.'

'Well,' Ron said thoughtfully, 'you could just duck the press conference.'

'No he can't!' Hermione replied, staring at Ron incredulously. She turned to Harry and shook her head. 'You can't just not go to the press conference, especially if I have one tomorrow as well.'

Both Harry and Ron looked up at her inquisitively, but it was not either of them that spoke up, it was Ginny coming down the stairs. 'What? Who has press conferences and why? I feel as thought I've been left out of the discussion a bit.'

Harry turned around and tried to smile at Ginny as she came to sit down next to him. 'I have to give a press conference with Gawain tomorrow about catching MacNair. As for Hermione,' he said, turning to face Hermione across from him, 'I haven't the slightest idea.'

Hermione finished a sip from her teacup and set it down. 'I've decided to take S.P.E.W. public and get more people involved. I asked my boss about it and I've been working on it since I started at the Ministry.' Hermione worked from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry of Magic. She'd been hired on right out of Hogwarts, which was highly unusual. Percy Weasley hadn't even been hired until he was two months out of school.

Ginny smiled. 'That's great Hermione, really great. I hope it goes well,' she said. 'Though I hope you'll get a better treasurer and secretary than these two.' She indicated Harry and Ron, both of whom scowled.

Hermione laughed and straightened the newspaper as Ron got up and refilled her teacup and his own. 'This isn't the best press coverage, Harry,' she said.

'Let me see that, Hermione,' Ginny said. She bypassed the front page completely and went straight for the Quidditch section. 'Ha! I kicked arse yesterday!'

Harry laughed and kissed her cheek. 'Oh, I tell you that and you don't believe it until you read it in the Prophet? I feel so loved.'

Ginny laughed as well and punched his arm. 'You know I believed you last night, I just fancy knowing that other people think I'm really good.' She read through the article quite quickly, her eyes zipping from side to side almost as fast as Hermione's usually did when reading a textbook.

Harry got up and walked over to the kitchen door. 'You know,' he said to the kitchen at large, 'it's a fairly nice day out today. Who's up for a picnic?' This got Ginny's attention. She looked up from the paper with a semi-shocked expression on her face. 'What?' he asked when he turned back around. 'I can't have a good idea every once in a while?'

Ginny and Hermione looked at each other and laughed, Ron joining in after getting over his own shock. Harry scowled once more. 'Fine, you lot don't have to come with me. I'll pack a basket for myself and go alone.'

'You'll do no such thing, Harry Potter,' Ginny said with a mockingly stern look on her face. 'You'll take Ron and Hermione and I with you or you'll be sorry.'

Harry tried to keep a straight face, but couldn't help laughing at Ginny's expression. 'Alright, you three can come, but I'm voicing my objections now.'

Ron coughed and Harry looked at him. It looked as though he and Hermione were both trying to get the other to say something. Hermione won and Ron blushed. 'Er, Harry? Hermione and I can't go today. I promised we'd do something special today, just her and I.'

Harry was slightly shocked. It was uncommon that Ron and Hermione would want to not do something with Harry and Ginny, but not unheard of. 'That's fine, of course. You two have fun. You wanna go, Gin? Just you and me?' He waggled his eyebrows invitingly and Ginny had to fight the impulse, and it appeared to be a hard fight, not to break down in a fit of giggles.

'Of course!' she said, finally giving way and giggling, though not as much as she would have a moment before. 'You want to leave around one?' she asked.

'Sounds great to me,' Harry replied. He checked his watch, seeing there was about one hour until one o'clock and nodding. 'I have something I can take care of rather quickly and I'll be back right after. That way we can go picnicking. That all right with you, Gin?'

She looked suspicious for a moment, on the verge of asking what his business was, but thought better of it and nodded. 'Yeah, of course. I'll see you soon, then?'

He strode over and kissed her for a few moments. 'As soon as possible, Gin. Love you,' he said, whispering in her ear so Ron and Hermione wouldn't hear as well.

Ginny smiled. 'I love you too, Harry. Bye.'

He smiled and waved and Ron and Hermione, who were talking animatedly to give Harry and Ginny some illusion of privacy. They waved back as Harry walked out the door.

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'We're almost finished, Mr Potter,' said the man behind the teak desk with his ever-present whine. He shuffled a few papers and squinted at them through his thick spectacles. 'I'd say another two and a half, maybe three months. Definitely three if you want us to perform the protective charms and spells first.'

Harry nodded. 'That's fine, Mr Cygnus. Frankly, I thought it would take longer. The money is taken care of, correct?' he asked. He'd given Cygnus permission to withdraw what he needed from his Gringotts account. The goblins were always given statements so the small man could not charge larger fees just because Harry was wealthy.

After the war, when Harry had settled everything and had a few spare moments (they were few and far between), he had gone to the small wizarding real estate and construction building he'd heard of at the Ministry. He'd figured out what he wanted, went out to the site, and helped to design his project. He wanted his own home in Godric's Hollow; it was Harry's first choice in place to live besides the Burrow and he couldn't live with the Weasleys forever. It was on the outskirts and was more in the country than inside the town proper, but it was still technically in Godric's Hollow. Admittedly, he'd gone a tad bit overboard. The home he'd finally decided on had gone from small cottage to what could only be described as a mansion.

It had two wings of bedrooms on the second floor, the spares for any staying over and of course for an expanding family; the master bedroom, bathroom, and an extra living room took up the smaller third floor; an expansive foyer with two wide staircases that led to the second and third levels; a huge, fully stocked, two story library that Hermione would simply drool over; a potions lab in the basement; a den, living room, family room, enormous kitchen, and large dining room complete with a table nearly as long as a house table from Hogwarts, which all were on the first floor. It would not be furnished until Harry decided to move in, though that was to be expected since he wanted Ginny to help him and she knew nothing about his little pet project. The roof had telescopes, chairs, a table, and storage closet for sunbathing equipment. Harry had designed it to have a wrap around porch on the ground and third levels, Corinthian columns connecting and supporting them. All around the property, and especially the back, was one large garden. All except for an area for a pool and spa that were behind the eastern wing. There were many trees in front of the house, just enough to screen it from any passersby, though the lane leading to the house was bordered by many flowers and plants.

Several meters away from the west wing of the house was a garage. Harry had found he quite fancied tinkering with cars and other vehicles. Since he had been brought up for nearly ten years around them, he had quickly learned what to do and wanted to restore old cars when there was time. The drive leading to the road, almost a full kilometer away since the garage was set back and away from the house, was also lined with plants, but it was cleverly hidden from the main road with a charm that made it look as though a few trees had fallen there. When Harry drove out, he would drive straight through. It wouldn't let him pass if there were Muggles on the road.

'Yes,' Cygnus said, pulling Harry back to the conversation, though Harry left dreams of his completed home reluctantly, 'payment has all been taken care of.' He said this in such a way that Harry suspected Cygnus had tried to overcharge him, but the goblins of Gringotts Bank had been informed to double-check the estimates and fees by Bill Weasley. Bill, of course, didn't know why this had to be done, but he was happy to oblige Harry. 'Is there anything else?'

'That should do it, Mr Cygnus,' Harry said, pleased with himself for not only arranging everything, but for keeping it quiet from everyone besides himself and Cygnus. 'Send an owl when you need me to finalize the papers and do a final inspection.'

Cygnus nodded, filing away Harry's papers and contracts. He waved his wand at the filing cabinet and it clicked in an assuring way. 'Of course, Mr Potter. Have a good day, sir.' Cygnus rose to his not very impressive height and shook Harry's hand as he stood as well, making Cygnus look even shorter.

'And you as well,' Harry said and left the office. He made his way to the alley behind and Disapparated.

He reappeared in his usual spot just outside the garden at the Burrow. He strode up the walk and entered the kitchen, smelling fresh baked bread as he did. There was a large basket on the kitchen table that was closed and seemed empty, though Harry knew it had an Undetectable Expansion Charm placed on it for just such an occasion like today.

'Ginny!' he called loudly, following his nose to the bread she'd baked while he'd been away. 'I'm back!'

She came in from the living room and hugged him, kissing his neck and not letting go for a moment. 'And where have you been, mister?' she asked in a mock serious tone. The effect was ruined by her large smile and the fact that she was still wrapped around Harry.

'You'll find out soon enough,' Harry teased. This was always the reply he gave when he'd been off planning and supervising the building of the mansion.

Ginny growled slightly, but still did not drop her grin. 'One of these days I'll get you to tell me,' she whispered. She unwrapped her arms from his neck and grabbed his head to kiss him on the mouth sensuously. 'Oh, and Ron and Hermione already left,' she said when she'd finished thoroughly kissing him.

Harry was slightly dazed and it took a moment for him to process this thought, though when he did he laughed quietly. 'That was somewhat obvious, we usually don't snog in the kitchen when they're home.'

Ginny laughed as well and kissed him once more before going to the counter and packing some cutlery. 'If you'll grab the basket and a blanket, I think we'll be ready to go,' she said, smiling at him again.

Harry smiled back and summoned a large, soft blanket from the chest in the living room and hooked the basket's handles with his left arm. As he'd expected, it was heavy, but he was ready and took the weight easily. He tucked the blanket under the handles of the basket and made sure he had his wand in his right hand. When he looked up, Ginny wasn't carrying anything.

Harry glared at her for a moment before laughing. 'Why is it,' he asked, 'that I always have to carry everything?'

Ginny gave him a look that was both amusement and exasperation. 'Because you're the bloke, isn't that obvious?' She giggled as she held the kitchen door open for him. Harry rolled his eyes and walked through. She laughed again and locked the door behind her with her wand. Harry walked to the Apparition point and waited for Ginny.

'Grab my shoulder,' he said. 'We haven't been where we're going today before.' Ginny nodded and grasped Harry's shoulder as he'd indicated. They weren't Side-Along Apparating, but Harry was guiding her just as Dumbledore once had.

They both turned at the same time and Disapparated. After the compressing darkness ended, they were in a warm, sunny field with a slight breeze that carried the scent of summer flowers. Harry had chosen it because he knew it to be totally deserted for fifty kilometers in every direction and they ran next to no risk of being interrupted. Harry set the basket down and spread the blanket out, making sure it would lie flat, unlike his hair which was just as messy as ever. The grass was soft, so when he took off his shoes and socks, it felt cushy and warm between his toes.

He and Ginny both unpacked the basket, so much coming out that any Muggle would have thought Marry Poppins owned it. There was the bread that had been tantalizing Harry before, many leftovers from the party, some grapes, strawberries, blueberries, chocolate sauce for dipping, a pitcher of pumpkin juice, two bottles of Butterbeer, and for dessert, Harry's favourite treacle tart. They laid everything out on the blanket and started piling things onto the plates they had brough from the Burrow.

'This looks delicious, Gin,' Harry said, his stomach growling. 'Sorry I couldn't help put everything together.'

She smiled at him as she stole a grape from his plate, even though she had some on her own plate as well. 'It's okay. One of these days, you'll tell me or I'll find out whatever this urgent business that you keep running off to do is and all shall be forgiven.'

Harry quirked an eyebrow and snatched a strawberry from her plate. 'You'll find out in due course,' he said enigmatically. He was laughing on the inside, knowing she might faint from the shock of seeing the house.

She shook her head and sighed, pouring them each a glass of pumpkin juice that she then cast a Cooling Charm on so it would be nice and cold. They clinked their glasses and drank from them before starting to eat the miniature feast that Ginny had packed. They ate in a companionable silence, every so often exchanging a few words about their respective weeks. Harry told Ginny about what had been going on at the Ministry and Ginny telling him about the training schedule that Gwenog was putting her and the team through. She was reasonably confident that she would be replacing the injured Chaser. It appeared that the woman wanted to retire anyway, the injury being exactly the excuse she needed.

The manager, Gwenog, and owners and sponsors would have a meeting during the week to decide if they wanted to have Ginny as their new starter or if they would use one of the others from the reserve squad. They had been waiting longer, but Ginny was clearly a superb player and the Harpies wanted to win. The running theory was that if they did not put Ginny in as a starter, other teams in the league were sure to approach her so they could do so themselves.

After they'd eaten their fill of lunch and dessert, they put away all of the food and assorted cutlery and tableware, then they lay down in each others arms looking up at the clouds drifting lazily across the sky. Every so often, they'd point up and laugh as they described to each other what each cloud shape reminded them of. There was one that looked like a bowler hat, another like a lion, one looked a lot like a train, and there were a few indistinct shapes that Harry made sexual references to, Ginny punching his arm and laughing each time.

'So what made you pick this place?' Ginny asked in a curious, but lazy tone. She looked as if she were about to fall asleep.

Harry thought a moment and traced shapes on her exposed arms. 'Well, there is an extremely low chance of anyone seeing or hearing us, we're about fifty kilometers away from anything in particular.'

Ginny grinned and stood. 'Close your eyes and turn around,' she said, hands on her hips. Harry quirked an eyebrow, but respectfully turned away and closed his eyes. After a few moments, he heard the rustling of clothes and very nearly turned back around just to see what Ginny was up to, but he didn't because he knew what Ginny could do when angry. Just after he'd heard the clothes rustle, Ginny had lain back down next to him. 'Okay, you can open your eyes, Harry.'

He turned his head back with his eyes open to see her in the tiniest bikini he'd ever seen. It was obviously not one her parents knew about, or they'd have died just to roll over in their graves. It was a bright, sunshine yellow with white polka dots and it revealed more than it covered.

'So you're going to sunbathe, are you?' he asked, grinning at how she looked in the extremely skimpy outfit.

'What? You aren't going to join me?' she asked, uncharacteristically pouting.

Harry laughed. 'Close your eyes and turn around,' he repeated, trying to match her pitch and tone of voice. She stuck her tongue out and turned away with her eyes closed. Harry waved his wand and all of his clothes disappeared, reappearing in a folded stack on top of the basket. It looked as though Ginny's were next to it. A second wave of the phoenix wand made a black Speedo appear on him, just as skimpy and revealing as Ginny's. 'There, you can look.'

She turned back around and had to bite back a laugh. 'I cannot believe you're wearing a Speedo!' she exclaimed as she gave in to her laughter.

'What? I don't like having a lot of tan lines on my legs. Problem?' he asked. 'It's not like you have a whole lot of fabric on yourself.'

Ginny grinned at him. 'Complaining? Because I can put on something more…appropriate.'

Harry's eyes widened. 'No! What you're wearing is just fine. Fancy some sunscreen?'

Ginny laughed again. 'Very tactful way to change the subject, Mr Potter. Yes, I would like some. I'll burn otherwise, hell, I'll probably burn anyway. You can never tan with my skin.'

Harry laughed and waved his wand a third time. Some SPF 45 sunscreen appeared next to him. He picked it up and squirted some onto his hands. 'Mind if I…?' he asked, trailing off.

'Go right ahead, love,' she said, laying back again. Harry started at her smooth and creamy legs and worked his way up with the sunscreen, massaging it in and skipping over the very brief areas covered with cloth. After he'd finished, she snatched the bottle from him and repeated the process.

'Now that we have that taken care of,' Ginny said, wiping her hands on the blanket, 'shall we just lie here?'

'As long as neither of us falls asleep, I don't see a problem with that,' Harry replied. A fourth wave of his wand made two pairs of sunglasses appear for them. He handed one to Ginny and put the other on himself.

'Thanks, Harry,' she said, sliding them on. They weren't anything special, just something simple to keep the sun out of their eyes. It wasn't as if they were taking pictures for a magazine cover or anything.

'Welcome, Gin,' he replied and laid back down, his hands behind his head.

For a few hours, they just laid there, staring up at the sky and dozing, though some of that time was spent rolling in the grass together and kissing like two people who'd just learned how. After a while, when they'd each calmed down some, they'd turned onto their stomachs, taking turns to rub the sunscreen into each others backs and the backs of their legs. Admittedly, Harry had a hard time stopping from rubbing it into Ginny's backside, but he eventually pulled himself away and finished. It also took some doing to get the grass off their fronts, but they managed.

After they were sufficiently brown, or slightly red in Ginny's case, they packed up their things, put their clothes back on and left for home as the sun was beginning to set.

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When they arrived back at the Burrow, arm-in-arm and smiling like idiots after their fun in the sun, they found Ron and Hermione still out. They went up the garden path and entered the kitchen. It was a stroke of luck that Mr and Mrs Weasley had not returned yet, either. They put the dirty dishes in the sink and whatever food they had left into the icebox before going up to Ginny's bedroom. They knew that they would not be able to do anything 'interesting' for the rest of the day, but they could take a nap together. They were exhausted, anyway. The sun had taken a lot out of them, as it always did when one spent too much time under it.

They were awoken two hours later when the sun was starting to set when Ron and Hermione arrived back at the Burrow laughing loudly. Harry woke with a start and fell out of the bed, Ginny very nearly landing on top of him. He put a finger to his lips and Apparated to his room. He quickly comported himself and went downstairs, meeting Ginny on the way. Harry made sure to make quite the racquet walking down the stairs so Ron would have no reason to suspect they were doing anything inappropriate.

'Hey Harry!' he said when he saw them coming down the stairs holding hands. He and Hermione still looked very happy and were sitting side-by-side at the kitchen table, holding hands just as Harry and Ginny were.

Harry grinned at his best friends and pulled out a chair for Ginny then sat in the chair next to her, recapturing her hand as he sat down. 'Hey Ron, Hermione. What did you two do today?'

Hermione was the one to answer, but she took a moment to look at Ron first. 'We went to visit my parents, and then had a late lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. I can't believe my mum!' she exclaimed.

Ginny looked concerned. 'What happened, Hermione?' she asked.

'She asked when Ron was going to "make an honest woman of me,"' she said, throwing her left hand, the one note holding Ron's, into the air in exasperation.

Harry laughed, but Ginny was a little hesitant, though she did break into a grin. Ron was a brilliant shade of red. 'I was mortified!' he said, all trace of humour gone from him. 'What was I supposed to say to that?'

'Anything but what you did say,' Hermione said darkly. She turned to Harry and Ginny. 'He just sat there with his mouth open and said, "I dunno, soon?"'

Ginny balked. 'You said what?!' she yelled at Ron. It looked like Ron deflated in his seat under the look in Ginny's eyes.

'I didn't know what to say! Really, what would you have said, Harry?' Ron asked. He looked desperate for the right answer.

Both Hermione and Ginny turned in their seats to look at him. 'Oh no, don't drag me into this one mate,' Harry replied with a grimace, but Ginny looked dangerous. 'I dunno what I would've said. I don't think your mum would even ask me, Gin.' She still looked like an angry dragon. 'All right! I would have told her when we're ready!'

Ginny smiled. 'See?' she said to Ron, rounding on him. 'That's what you're supposed to say in that situation.'

Ron glared at his baby sister. 'I can't help it if Harry's smarter than me,' he muttered, looking down at the scrubbed and scarred table. 'What happens now?'

Hermione sighed. 'I'll fix it, Ron. Don't worry.' She kissed his cheek and squeezed his hand. 'Just, in the future, let me do the talking, okay?'

Ron smiled again. 'Works for me, I'm terrible at it.'

They all laughed again, reminding Harry that Ron and Hermione had been in good spirits upon entering the room. 'So what made you laugh so hard when you were coming in? You were laughing your arses off.'

'Oh!' Ron said and started laughing again. Hermione did as well. 'One of the garden gnomes was chasing another with a pair of mum's pruning shears and the other one found a pile of bulbs that were yet to be planted and started chucking them at the first one. It was bloody brilliant!'

Everyone in the kitchen laughed at this. Just then, Mr and Mrs Weasley strode up the garden path and through the open door into kitchen. 'What's so funny?' Mr Weasley asked, putting down his bag. 'Are you laughing at the gnomes again?'

Ron turned around and smiled at his parents. 'Yeah, we got home just before you two and they were having a bit of a fight in the yard. Who won?'

'The one with my shears,' Mrs Weasley said, her eyes narrowing. 'Why didn't you take them away from it, Ron?'

Ron turned pink and looked down. 'Sorry Mum,' he muttered. Ginny giggled, but then ducked her head as well when Mrs Weasley looked at her.

Mr Weasley cleared his throat and waved his wand, the bags he and his wife had been carrying whooshing away up the stairs and, presumably, into their room. Harry grinned a bit and squeezed Ginny's hand slightly. She looked up and smiled at him.

Mrs Weasley gave up the evil eye and looked at them all. 'Is everyone hungry?' she asked, making her way to the sink. She waved her wand and the dishes that Harry and Ginny had put in there started to wash and dry themselves. 'We still have some leftovers from the party and I can whip something up quick if you all like.'

The four at the table looked at each other and shrugged. 'I'm starving!' Ron said and everyone in the room rolled their eyes.

'You're always hungry, Ron,' Ginny said exasperatedly.

Ron glared at her. 'Shut your mouth, Gin.'

She stuck her tongue out at him and they all started to help with dinner. About twenty minutes later, they'd laid everything out, changed into something they hadn't been wearing the entire day, and sat down to chat and eat. Mr and Mrs Weasley gabbed on about the conference, Mrs Weasley mostly. It had had something to do with budget issues they would be facing for the rest of the fiscal year and such business related things at the Ministry. Harry hadn't been invited because he wasn't high up enough yet to go to such a thing, but he liked it that way.

After dinner, Hermione went home and the others retired to their bedrooms. Harry and Ginny very reluctantly went to their own rooms after a lengthy kiss goodnight in front of Ginny's door. After Harry had taken off most of his clothes, he checked the phone he'd unceremoniously thrown in a drawer for any missed calls. There weren't any of course and he went to bed peacefully.

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A/N: Hope you all enjoyed that one. Sorry it took so long to get up. Started work recently and haven't been able to get on the computer much lately. Please read and review!


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